I can not tell y’all how many times I’ve gone to check out at our local and the cashier will hold up the sweet potato I’m buying and ask me what the heck it is. It happens at least 50% of the time. It invariably leads to other questions which I can’t answer fully because my German is a bit limited. My fall back is always ‘Süßkartoffeln sind sehr gut für Ihre Gesundheit.” which sounds like something a third grader would say. The reason for their lack of knowledge of this magical root vegetable? Sweet potatoes, or kumara in New Zealand, have only been widely available in Germany for about 5 years, so they are relatively new to the German food market. Not everyone has caught on to and embraced the new potato in town. {Maybe they should though. I’m sure sweet potato Knödel would be infinitely better than its current form.}

However, when buying some the other day, I happened upon a little pamphlet in front of the bin from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission describing why they were good for you {Vitamin A! Very important for this carrot hater} and how to use them, auf Deutsch of course. I actually considered taking a few with me so I could spread the public service announcement to cashiers at other stores, but I refrained. Well done North Carolina. Thanks for having my back. Just one more reason for me to love you.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

The Fries
1 sweet potato
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt {or garlic salt}

The Sauce
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp cream
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp plain yogurt

Preheat your oven to 450°F/225°C.

Peel your potato and chop into slices that are approximately 4.25 inches in length and 1/3 of an inch in width and height. Just kidding. Chop them to look like fries. Put them in a medium size bowl, add the salt and olive oil, and toss to coat. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread your fries out on it. Pop them in the oven for 30 minutes. Give them a stir about half way through so they are evenly crispy.

While the fries are baking, break out the food processor. Add all of the ingredients for the sauce to the food processor and blend until its creamy and the blue cheese is in tiny chunks.

This is a great side if your making a burger or any sandwich for that matter. I also make them with wings and when I make buffalo chicken fingers {pictured} because then the sauce can serve double duty.