Farmer's Weekly (South Africa)
CHIP & DIP
Television demands appropriate food. Something that goes just as well with a Netflix binge as it does with rugby or soccer. And here it is for your next couch session: sweet potato chips with home-made mayonnaise.
1 Start with the mayonnaise. The big deal here is to ensure that all ingredients are at room temperature. Separate the three yolks. Squeeze the lemon or lemons, then strain the juice to remove cells and pips. Combine everything on the ingredient list, except for the lemon juice and canola oil, in your food processor. Run the food processor at full speed. After about 90 seconds, slowly pour in the canola oil in a thin stream while the machine continues running flat out. When the mixture has thickened, slowly add the lemon juice, with the machine still running. Switch off and taste the dip. Adjust the seasoning as you require.
2 Next, the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 230°C. Clean and peel the sweet potatoes. As the skin of the sweet potato is thin, I find it easiest and least wasteful to scrape the skin off with the sharp edge of a teaspoon.
3 Cut the sweet potatoes lengthways into standard chip dimensions, keeping them as uniform as possible. Place them in a mixing bowl, add the oil, and move them around sufficiently to lightly coat the chips on all sides.
4 Combine the salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, coriander and black pepper in a second bowl and mix well before scattering over the lightly oiled chips. Arrange these in one or two roasting pans, ideally in one layer. Roast for 12 minutes per side, turning once. Serve hot and fresh from the oven, with dipping bowls of the home-made mayo to complete the experience.
• David Basckin is a freelance journalist and videographer. Email him at farmersweekly@caxton.co.za. Subject line: Real cooking.