Sweet Potato Tater Tots {AIP}

Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Wash the sweet potatoes and poke a few times with a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and set aside to cool to room temperature. This will take a few hours, so plan ahead.When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin. It should easily slide off when you drag the back of a butter knife across it. Discard the peels.Using a box grater, shred the sweet potatoes. The potatoes should be somewhat sticky from having the intrinsic sugars activated from the baking. In fact, it’s the natural sugars from the sweet potatoes that act as the binder for the tot.Use a tablespoon or something comparable to scoop out spoonfuls of shredded potato. Working one at a time, roll the potatoes back and forth in the palm of your hand a few times, then squish the ends flat to create the classic tater tot shape. Continue working until all the potato is used up.Now move to frying the newly formed tots. I like to use an 8-inch (20-cm) cast-iron skillet because it is narrow with high-sides. This means less oil is needed, which saves money. There is some flexibility between which Paleo-friendly oil to select, but in general animal-based fats will yield a better flavor, so my vote is for lard from pastured pigs or duck fat. In the event you don’t have these on hand, avocado oil works great—as does coconut oil. Avoid oils with low smoke points like olive or bacon drippings. They won’t fry properly.Melt or heat your chosen fat in a small, high-sided pan at just shy of high heat. Don’t max out your dial, but get it pretty close.When the oil is hot, fry 5 or 6 tots at a time, working in batches. Frying only a few at a time will keep the oil temperature stable. This means the tots will have a crispy outside and a creamy inside.Each side only requires about a minute or so to brown, so keep a close eye on the tots and always be ready to turn and/or remove them. The end caps don’t generally need frying since the oil level is likely high enough to brown the edges.Once the Tater Tots are golden brown, remove them from the oil and transfer to a surface lined with paper towels to drain. Repeat until all of the tots are cooked.Season with salt (I like coarse-grain Celtic sea salt on these) and maybe a sprinkling of House Seasoning (from page 187 of the book) for an extra kick. Serve with your favorite Paleo dipping sauce or use these to make Paleo Hotdish (on page 48 of the book)—more commonly known as Tater Tot Casserole.