Trio of Sweet Potato Fries

I came up with the idea to do this trio after seeing an idea for it on someone else’s blog, but I did it with my own recipes for the sweet potato fries. While I’m sure that her fries were delicious, I am quite biased and rather enjoy the recipes I’ve come up with… :-)
The basil salted ones were not my original recipe, but when I saw Giada making the fries on her show I knew that I would have to try them! I made my version a little bit less salty and a little more basil-y, and adjusted some things in the dip, but didn’t change too much. They’re delightful just the way they are!
The Cajun seasoned sweet potato fries with wasabi dipping sauce was inspired after having something similar to them at a local restaurant. My recipe isn’t quite the same as the ones I had there, but I did love the idea of the wasabi dipping sauce. I can’t remember where I got my recipe for the wasabi sauce, but I do enjoy it immensely! The wasabi dip I had at the restaurant had cucumber in it, but I’m really quite fond of avocado and so I went with that option for the “cooling agent” in mine. For the Cajun seasoning, it’s a recipe that I’ve had for a long time and is actually from one of those little cards you can pick up in the grocery store. It’s originally for a salmon recipe, but I love the Cajun seasoning on so many other things that it’s just become my base recipe for it.
Now, for the caramelized sweet potatoes with caramel and marshmallow dipping sauce… A friend of mine told me about having something similar to them when she went out to eat with a friend of hers. She told me what she had had, and what it tasted like, and then I took it from there and just ran with it. And this is what I came up with! Admittedly, although the others are very good, this one is my very favorite. (What can I say? I have a terribly large sweet tooth!)

Printable Recipe

5 sweet potatoes
Flour and cornstarch, for dredging
Canola oil, for deep frying
Brown sugar
Basil Salt, recipe follows
Cajun Seasoning, recipe follows
Caramel Marshmallow Dipping Sauce, recipe follows
Garlic Mayonnaise, recipe follows
Wasabi Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into fries, approximately ½-inch thick. Place in a bowl of ice water to soak for at least 30 minutes. (Soaking removes starch, which helps the potatoes crisp when deep fried.)
Prepare all of the dipping sauces.
Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 375° and preheat the broiler. Combine two parts flour and one part cornstarch, mix a third of the flour mixture with the Cajun seasoning. Drain the sweet potatoes in batches and toss them in the cornstarch mixture (make sure that all fries are evenly coated), making sure to toss a third of the sweet potatoes with the Cajun-spiced flour mixture. Add to the oil in batches and cook until golden and crispy, approximately 8 minutes, and drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle half of the plain flour mixture-coated fries lightly with brown sugar, toss to coat. Broil the fries for two minutes, or until the sugar caramelizes and forms a nice crispy crust. Serve with the Caramel Marshmallow Dipping Sauce.
After removing the other half of the plain flour mixture-coated fries to a paper towel-lined plate, sprinkle them with the Basil Salt and serve with the Garlic Mayonnaise. Serve the Cajun spiced sweet potato fries with the Wasabi Dipping Sauce. Makes 4 servings


Caramel Marshmallow Dipping Sauce:
3 Tbsp. heavy cream
3 Tbsp. butter
½ c. brown sugar
½ tsp. salt
Marshmallow Cream

Add all of the ingredients to a small pot and bring to a boil. The longer you boil the mixture, the thicker the sauce will be. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow to cool. Slightly warm and swirl the marshmallow cream into the caramel sauce and use as a dipping sauce for the caramelized sweet potato fries.


Basil Salt:
2 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. sea salt

Combine the basil, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.


Garlic Mayonnaise:
¾ c. mayonnaise
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic powder, and lemon juice, and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate to allow the flavors to marry. Serve as a dipping sauce for the basil salted sweet potato fries.


Cajun Seasoning:
1½ tsp. paprika
½ tsp. thyme
½ tsp. basil
½ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. seasoning salt
⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper

Combine all of the spices and store in an airtight container.


Wasabi Dipping Sauce:
1 avocado
⅓ c. mayonnaise
⅓ c. cream cheese
1 - 2 Tbsp. prepared wasabi
1 lime, juiced
Splash of heavy cream
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Combine the avocado, mayonnaise, cream cheese, wasabi, and lime juice in the bowl of a food processor. Blend for 1 minute or until you have a smooth paste, adding a little bit of heavy cream to thin it out slightly; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and place in the refrigerator, allowing the flavors to marry. Serve with the Cajun spiced sweet potato fries.