Roasted Sweet Potato Fries with 2 Dipping Sauces: Creamy Chipotle Aioli and Black Garlic Aioli
By Heidi Allison
These sweet potato wedges are crispy on the outside, and moist and fluffy on the inside—the perfect fry! Mirroring the culinary technique used in Belgium to create their iconic white potato French fries (aka frites or frieten), they are cooked twice.
Started in a microwave, the sweet potato’s rock-hard, orange flesh is gently softened in moist heat, then allowed to slowly finish off cooking on a plate at room temperature, which maintains the tuber’s soft, moist texture. To create a crispy, caramelized crust, the sweet potato wedges are seasoned with garlic sea salt flakes and lightly filmed with a neutral oil containing a high smoke point, then finished off at a high temperature in an air fryer.
It’s crucial to choose the correct type of sweet potato to get the requisite moist, yet crispy texture in the finished dish: Choose one of the “moist” sweet potato cultivars—Red Garnet or Jewel—for this recipe rather than the “dry” tan or purple-skinned sweet potatoes. These orange or red-skinned tubers have a sweeter flavor and creamier texture.
This dish is served with two dipping sauces: a scratch-made smoky, slightly spicy chipotle aioli and a sweet, complex umamiish black garlic aioli, which enhances the molasses-like flavor of the caramelized sweet potatoes. If there are any leftovers, these sweet potato wedges work well the next day in vegetarian tacos, or topping a frisee salad with jammy sous vide eggs dressed with an aged balsamic dressing.
Sweet Potato Wedges
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, about 1 pound each (Use Red Garnet or Jewel)
2 Tbs. grapeseed oil
1 tsp. flake sea salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic powder
2 Tbs. minced cilantro
Preparation:
Rinse sweet potatoes and set side. Using a fork, prick sweet potatoes every 2 inches, and wrap in a damp paper towel. Place sweet potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 8 minutes until just tender. Remove from microwave, and allow to cool till easy to handle—about 15 minutes.
Cut ends off sweet potatoes and discard. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters—you should have 8 wedges per sweet potato.
Using a pastry brush, gently brush oil on cut sides of wedges, sprinkle with garlic sea salt, and place on the air flyer crisper tray, being careful to not crowd pieces so hot air can circulate around wedges. Roast at 390 degrees F for 9 minutes. Pause Air Fryer and turn wedges over. Dust with chopped cilantro and continue to cook for another 9 minutes until crispy and lightly browned.
Dipping Sauces:
Chipotle Aioli
1/2 can 7 oz. chipotle chile en adobo, about 3.5 oz.
1 cup good-quality mayo (Best Foods or Hellmans)
1 tsp. kosher flake sea salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
juice of fresh lime, about 1 Tbs.
Preparation:
Place chipotle chiles en adobo sauce, mayo, sea salt, black pepper and smoked paprika into a Ninja blender and purée on blend cycle till combined. Pour into a small bowl and squeeze fresh lime juice over chipotle chili sauce, then stir. Cover and set aside.
Black Garlic Aioli
1 1/2 heads of black garlic
2-3 Tbs. warm water
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice, about 1 juicy lemon
1/4 tsp. flake sea salt
Preparation:
Place mayo, black garlic, lemon juice, water and salt into Ninja blender and purée on blend till combined. Pour into a small dish and cover.
These sweet potato wedges are crispy on the outside, and moist and fluffy on the inside—the perfect fry! Mirroring the culinary technique used in Belgium to create their iconic white potato French fries (aka frites or frieten), they are cooked twice.
Started in a microwave, the sweet potato’s rock-hard, orange flesh is gently softened in moist heat, then allowed to slowly finish off cooking on a plate at room temperature, which maintains the tuber’s soft, moist texture. To create a crispy, caramelized crust, the sweet potato wedges are seasoned with garlic sea salt flakes and lightly filmed with a neutral oil containing a high smoke point, then finished off at a high temperature in an air fryer.
It’s crucial to choose the correct type of sweet potato to get the requisite moist, yet crispy texture in the finished dish: Choose one of the “moist” sweet potato cultivars—Red Garnet or Jewel—for this recipe rather than the “dry” tan or purple-skinned sweet potatoes. These orange or red-skinned tubers have a sweeter flavor and creamier texture.
This dish is served with two dipping sauces: a scratch-made smoky, slightly spicy chipotle aioli and a sweet, complex umamiish black garlic aioli, which enhances the molasses-like flavor of the caramelized sweet potatoes. If there are any leftovers, these sweet potato wedges work well the next day in vegetarian tacos, or topping a frisee salad with jammy sous vide eggs dressed with an aged balsamic dressing.
Sweet Potato Wedges
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
2 large sweet potatoes, about 1 pound each (Use Red Garnet or Jewel)
2 Tbs. grapeseed oil
1 tsp. flake sea salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic powder
2 Tbs. minced cilantro
Preparation:
Rinse sweet potatoes and set side. Using a fork, prick sweet potatoes every 2 inches, and wrap in a damp paper towel. Place sweet potatoes on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 8 minutes until just tender. Remove from microwave, and allow to cool till easy to handle—about 15 minutes.
Cut ends off sweet potatoes and discard. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise, then cut each half into quarters—you should have 8 wedges per sweet potato.
Using a pastry brush, gently brush oil on cut sides of wedges, sprinkle with garlic sea salt, and place on the air flyer crisper tray, being careful to not crowd pieces so hot air can circulate around wedges. Roast at 390 degrees F for 9 minutes. Pause Air Fryer and turn wedges over. Dust with chopped cilantro and continue to cook for another 9 minutes until crispy and lightly browned.
Dipping Sauces:
Chipotle Aioli
1/2 can 7 oz. chipotle chile en adobo, about 3.5 oz.
1 cup good-quality mayo (Best Foods or Hellmans)
1 tsp. kosher flake sea salt
2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
juice of fresh lime, about 1 Tbs.
Preparation:
Place chipotle chiles en adobo sauce, mayo, sea salt, black pepper and smoked paprika into a Ninja blender and purée on blend cycle till combined. Pour into a small bowl and squeeze fresh lime juice over chipotle chili sauce, then stir. Cover and set aside.
Black Garlic Aioli
1 1/2 heads of black garlic
2-3 Tbs. warm water
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice, about 1 juicy lemon
1/4 tsp. flake sea salt
Preparation:
Place mayo, black garlic, lemon juice, water and salt into Ninja blender and purée on blend till combined. Pour into a small dish and cover.
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