Oven Fries

These Oven Fries taste as good as french fries, without requiring a nap. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking french fries, that most beloved of junk-foods. But; add these Oven Fries to your fry repertoire and you could be eating fries morning, noon, and night - these fries are actually food. The inside is soft and moist and the outside is crisp and well seasoned. In a side by side comparison both fries are neck and neck. The Oven Fries compete by... well, by not competing, actually. These fries taste different. Where all french fries pretty much taste the same, (and pretty much taste like fry oil), these actually taste like potatoes: crunchy, salty, fatty potatoes! For some this may be a negative, but, if you actually like the taste of a quality potato, they might even be better. So, especially if you've gotten yourself a few pounds of some fancy potatoes, (you really should buy organic, the regular ones are pesticide sponges) and actually want to taste them, cook up a batch of these.

I hypothesize: (my friends know this theory well) french fries eaters fall into one of two camps: Square or Pointy. Take your plate of regular cafe french fries; you have a mix of fries cut from the center and the outside of a potato. Now; I contend: one either likes the the square fries from the center or the pointy ones from the outside; the slightly soft, or totally crisp. Personally, I like "square fries", so these are my ideal fry. Crispy on the outside (especially the edges) but soft and moist in the middle. If you want a crispier fry (I personally can't imagine why) you can easily roast these a bit longer, edging them into "pointy fry" territory.

Oven fries make a great blank canvas for your favorite spice or herb mixture. I usually use olive oil, salt, fresh ground black pepper, and a little Cajun seasoning. (I wouldn't necessarily title these Cajun fries, but if you doubled the amount of Cajun you could call them that.) They would also be great with chopped herbs, "taco seasoning", Parmesan cheese, even curry. I can't really think of anything that doesn't go well with potato. These also invite you to experiment with dips. Nothing much beets french fries and ketchup, but lots of condiments go well with fries - the obvious: ketchup and mustard, also hot sauce, BBQ, steak sauce, mayo, and sour cream. A few combos that come to mind are chipotle mayo, spicy ketchup, or herbed sour cream.

Some of the tricks to fool-proof fries are, first: size. In order to get a crisp fry without a deep fryer, you have to roast them for a pretty long time in the oven. You could get away with cutting these a bit smaller, but too much smaller and you risk a dry fry. Secondly, the fries must be spread out in a single layer. It helps if you can give each piece a little bit of space to encourage the moisture to evaporate. You'll also want to roast them at a high temp. to speed evaporation, and ensure a crisp fry. Though it does not help in your mission for crispness, you should season your potatoes before you bake them, or you will have a flavorless interior. Season the potatoes right before you throw them in the oven, or the salt will leach out liquid and wash all of your seasoning off the outside of your fry.




















the recipe:

3 lbs potatoes
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
1-2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
salt
fresh ground pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thoroughly wash potatoes and remove any blemishes. Cut lengthwise into cm. thick slices. Cut these slices lengthwise again into cm. sticks.

In a large bowl sprinkle with olive oil and stir to lightly coat each peace. Liberally season with salt and pepper and stir in Cajun seasoning.



















Spread on lightly oiled sheet pan, (line with foil for drastically easier clean up) and roast for approx 1 hour. (If using two pans, rotate at least once.) Once potatoes have crisped enough to be moved easily, about 45 minutes, flip with tongs or spatula and continue roasting to desired crispness, approx. 15 minutes.