Smoky Sweet Potato and Carrot Fries with Roasted Red Pepper Dipping Sauce

Orange vegetables, including sweet potato and carrot, are excellent sources of beta carotene, which the body uses to make vitamin A. Vitamin A is crucial for our eyes, our reproductive systems and our immune systems. And also, these sweet potato and carrot fries are delicious! Serve with Flavour-Packed Veggie Burgers.

PREP 15 MIN • COOK 25 MIN • MAKES 1 TRAY

For the fries:

1 ½ tbsp (22 mL) avocado oil

2 small sweet potatoes

4 medium carrots

1 ½ tsp (7.5 mL) smoked paprika

½ tsp (2 mL) sea salt

½ tsp (2 mL) cumin

For the dipping sauce:

¼ cup (60 mL) extra virgin olive oil

2 or 3 roasted red peppers (from a jar)

2 tbsp (30 mL) tahini

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tbsp (15 mL) minced garlic

¼  tsp (1 mL) sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF (230ºC), and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. Peel and chop carrots and sweet potatoes into finger-sized pieces. For carrots, cut into 2 or 3 pieces, then halve each lengthwise. For sweet potatoes, cut into quarters, halve each piece, then make half-inch slices lengthwise, slicing in half again to desired size.
3. Add sweet potato and carrot fries to prepared baking tray, and coat with avocado oil and spices. Mix and evenly coat each piece, doing your best to give each piece its own space on the tray before putting the fries in the oven.
4. While carrots and sweet potatoes are in the oven, add all dipping sauce ingredients to food processor or blender, and pulse until smooth.
5. Bake for 25 minutes, until sweet potato and carrot fries begin to get crisp but stay soft on the inside. Sprinkle with another pinch of sea salt, and enjoy.

Excerpted from The Food Doula: A Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy and a Nourished New Mom by Lindsay Taylor, 2021, Plumleaf Press.