Yam fries in restaurants have crispy coatings that can’t quite be replicated by baking yam wedges with just salt and spices at home. However, adding in some cornmeal or corn flour can come close to copying the commercial versions, without the frying and addition of processed sugar and other additives. Cornmeal has larger granules and in the end the fries are a bit crispier, corn flour has smaller granules so it coats the yams better but they do no end up quite as crispy (I used corn flour for this batch so that is what the photos depict). This version is very simple but you can toss in a few dashes of cinnamon, brown sugar, paprika, cayenne, cumin, or any other spices that you like to make them even more flavorful. Plain, full-fat Greek yogurt is great to use as a base for an accompanying dip, it has lots of protein and being a fermented food it helps to balance out the intestinal flora with strains of good probiotics. Like with the fries you can get pretty fancy with some added spices and fresh herbs or keep it simple, just adding in some fresh lime juice and whatever hot sauce you have laying around will add in some flavor complexity and balance out the sweetness of the yams.
- 2 large yams, cut into thick strips (makes around 6 cups)
- 2 tablespoons cold-pressed olive oil
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal (or corn flour)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Spicy lime dip
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce (adjust according to taste and level of heat in your hot sauce)
- Preheat oven to 400°. Toss the yams with the olive oil on a parchment paper lined baking sheet until evenly coated then toss them in the cornmeal and salt. Place them in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, tossing halfway through so they crisp up evenly, and keep an eye on them near the end, if the ends of the yam strips are too thin they can burn easily. Meanwhile blend together the yogurt with the lime juice and hot sauce and refrigerate until serving time.
