Sweet Potato Fries with Parsley Salt

Serves 4 as a side dish

I like to cut sweet potato fries ‘shoestring’ style so that they are super thin and crispy. You can do this by hand but it is far easier to use a mandoline to get them all the same size and shape so that they cook evenly.

The parsley salt is very intense and delicious and also goes brilliantly as a dip for sashimi mixed with a little sesame oil. You can also make the salt with shiso leaves, celery leaves or tangerine or lemon zest that you slow roast in the oven.

Ingredients

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut ‘shoestring’ style with a mandoline
1 bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves only
Sea salt
vegetable oil for deep frying

Instructions

Preheat an oven to 70 C.

Place the cut sweet potatoes in a bowl and cover with cold water. Leave the potatoes to soak for 15 minutes, then drain and rinse several times to remove all excess starch. Dry the potatoes with kitchen roll or in a salad spinner until they are completely dry.

Meanwhile, make the parsley salt by laying the parsley leaves on a baking tray. Place the parsley in the oven and roast it for about 20 minutes or until the leaves are dry and crumbly. Place the parsley leaves in a suribachi or mortar and pestle and grind thoroughly until the parsley flakes are a powder. Add salt to approximately half the quantity of the parsley powder and grind again until the parsley is completely mixed with the salt. Set aside.

Heat the vegetable oil to 165C in a deep pot or wok. Deep fry the potatoes in small batches for 1 1/2 minutes, then remove and drain on a rack lined with kitchen roll.

Increase the heat of the oil to 190C and fry the potatoes a second time in batches for a further 1 1/2 minutes until crisp and golden. Drain the potatoes on clean kitchen roll, then place the fries in a bowl and sprinkle generously with the parsley salt. (You will not use all the salt. Save the rest to use for something else.)

Toss the fries with the salt and serve right away.

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Jennifer Klinec from Eat Drink Talk has kindly agreed to provide Urban Junkies readers with mouthwatering recipes and foodtips.

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by JK

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.