Cooking with Booze: Sticky Bourbon Sweet Potato Chips

Photo: Natalie Maynor (CCL)

It's officially #ChipWeek this week, how exciting!

What better excuse to stuff your face with the tastiest, saltiest, fluffy-on-the-inside-crunchy-on-the-outside-iest chips you can find?

I love a good chip (hot skinny fries with cold ketchup are a favourite) but I fear we often underestimate the power of the sweet potato fry. They bring flavours you just don't get with your regular chip, and they work with a huge array of dips and coating. Like booze. Lots of booze.

Yes, you heard right, booze and chips DO work together in a recipe. HOW BRILLIANT.

These sticky bourbon sweet potato fries are seriously, seriously addictive. Once they're in the oven your house is going to smell A-MAZ-ING. I served mine with grilled cajun chicken, but they'd also go well with all things barbecue, or salmon, or anything slightly spicy or smoky! The bourbon blends beautifully with the sweetness and the stodge and the slight kick from the paprika. Booze in chips = gooooood.

Sticky Bourbon Sweet Potato Chips recipe (serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, ends removed, chopped lengthways and then into chips (I like them pretty skinny)
• 3 tbsp bourbon
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp paprika
• Salt and pepper

How-To

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees (fan - add 20 degrees if not a fan oven) and lay the chips out on a baking sheet.
2. Pour on the bourbon, brown sugar, olive oil and paprika, and add salt and pepper as per your personal taste.
3. Give the tray a good shake, and then get your hands in there and make sure every chip is thoroughly coated with the mixture.
4. Pop in the oven for fifteen minutes. Then take them out and use tongs to flip each chip over.
5. Put them back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes, or until you can skewer them and they're soft all the way through.
6. Serve straight away (as if you can resist them any longer...)

Happy #ChipWeek everyone!