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Thoughts of a Piece of Dust: "Yam" Fries

Saturday, April 21, 2007

"Yam" Fries

I thought I would share a nice (and easy) food to have that is both nutritious and healthy: Yam Fries. I first encountered these at a restaurant in Victoria (The Reef). Since then I have tried making my own and inspired others to do the same. Yam fries have turned into somewhat of an icon for people I know.

You may have noticed that I used quotation marks around Yams in the title of this post. That's because it's not really Yams that I am using (and I didn't know this until five minutes ago). When looking up the health benefits of Yams on The World's Healthiest Foods, I was informed that what we call Yams are actually oranged coloured Sweet Potatoes. Check out the Sweet Potatoe profile on WHF to see all the benefits of eating them, including having many powerful antioxidants.

To make "Yam" fries, you simply have to cut the "Yam" into small pieces (sometimes I make strips, sometimes I make circles). Put the pieces into a bowl with a lid. Add some spices (any combination, though one I really liked was cayenne pepper, turmeric and black pepper) and olive oil. Put the lid on and shake it up really well. My suggestion is about 20-25mins at about 350-400 in the oven. Turn them over halfway so as to not burn them. Experiment with different spices and you'll probably find one that you really like, or just make them plain and use ketchup. I'll suggest trying cinnamon though. You may be pleasantly surprised.

I hope you enjoy this tasty food idea!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

yay for yams!

i'm also a fan of yam pancakes, made with mushed up already-cooked yams.

Tal said...

Sweet potato fries are excellent with ranch or cumumber salad dressing instead of ketchup, and happen to be a staple food on the Bean Bar menu. Yum!