I was planning on a salad for dinner last night but upon arriving home I was quickly in need of some comfort food. My sweet farmer met me at my car door and I immediately knew something was wrong. He told me he had some bad news, my heart sank as my mind immediately went to my kittens. Wingo, “our” un-trainable mutt of a hound dog had gotten off his runner at some point during the day and one kitten was already buried and the other one yet to be seen.
The kitties had just reached 4 months old which was a feat considering the state they were in when I got them. They had been abandoned by their mother, had eye infections, and were literal flea bags. I’d been nursing them back to health and they were finally rambunctious little things taking in daily wrestling matches and exploration expeditions.
My constant companions, the kitties quickly assimilated into the gang of chickens that follow me around during chore time. I also had big dreams of the mighty hunters they would become, eradicating the mice that can’t quite seem to understand that our home is not their home and ridding my garden of intruding gophers. So some tears later, dinner became fries instead of salad.
Comfort food for me involves something starchy, salty, and of course fatty! I had a mix of traditional sweet potatoes and purple skinned white fleshed Japanese sweet potatoes on hand. Sweet potato wedges are a weekly staple in our house but tonight called for fries so I pulled out the mandolin. I have a love-hate relationship with my mandolin as it is basically a death trap slicing wrists and fingers at will as you force tough sweet potatoes through it’s teeth, but it also makes them into the most wonderful matchsticks… I invested in a cutting glove to help ease my anxiety.
The fats I chose tonight are rich full kernel coconut oil from Dr. Bronner’s and Duck Fat from EPIC. I keep my duck fat in the fridge so I pulled it out when I started to soften it a bit. With our warm weather my coconut oil was already pour-able and made for the majority of the fat on these fries.
Ingredients:
- 3 Large Sweet Potatoes
- 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Duck Fat
- 1/2 Tablespoon Real Salt Seasoning
Instructions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees. I used a Mandolin to slice the sweet potatoes like those above but we often do wedges with a knife, this recipe will work for both. Put the sliced potatoes in a glass pyrex, pour the coconut oil over them and toss to make sure they are well coated. Sprinkle on half of the Real Salt Seasoning, stir and sprinkle on the rest. The duck fat was still pretty solid from the fridge so I broke up a spoonful into little dabs and scattered them throughout. Cook for 20 minutes, stir, cook another 20 minutes for a total of 40 minutes cooking time. Let cool and enjoy. This recipe would easily serve 5 people, with the 2 of us we had enough for “dinner” and to take in our lunches the next day.
The Farmer & The Cook 