Culinary School teaches the procedure to prepare true French Fries. This knowledge is beneficial, but when you have a hankering for fries, believe me, you are not going to deal with the fuss and muss of blanching potatoes in hot oil, or patiently waiting while parboiled potatoes are drying on some kitchen towels. Not to mention digging out the deep-fryer that is hibernating in the back cupboard. No, you will probably abandon the idea and attempt to quell the yearning in some other way (“Where did I put the potato chips?”) … and then calculating how long it would take to hit the drive-through. Either way, you still don’t have your fix.
Here is an easy and relatively quick way to have great-tasting French fries in a little bit more time than it takes to hit the drive-through, but it will be worth it.
First of all, a high-starch potato, like the russet, is essential in getting the true french fry effect. You can choose to peel it, or leave it au natural. The next trick is to soak the potato slices in cold water in the fridge for as long as possible. This soaking helps to get rid of the access starch that we don’t want on the finished product. If there is no time to soak, rinse (and double-rinse) the slices. The next trick is to blanche the potato slices in water (with vinegar and salt) before baking in the oven. The double cooking helps to get rid of access moisture and to ensures crispiness.
Crispy Oven French Fries
Prep Time: 10 minutes Baking Time: 30-35 minutes
Number of Servings: 4
Ingredients:
2-3 large russet potatoes, washed, (peeled or unpeeled)
2 tablespoons (30 mL) white vinegar
1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely grated (optional)
2-3 tablespoons (30-45 mL) olive oil
Kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garnish: Finely chopped chives or green onions
Chipotle Mayonnaise (recipe follows)
Sour Cream and Onion dip (recipe follows)
Method:
- Cut potatoes lengthwise into quarters, and then into ‘french fry’ slices ( ¼ inch by ¼ inch).
- Place slices in a large bowl, cover with cold water, and refrigerate for as little as 15 minutes or up to overnight. If there is no time to soak the potatoes, place the slices in a colander and rinse (and re-rinse) with cold water.
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Bring a pot of water to a boil; add the vinegar and salt.
- Drain the soaked potato slices in the colander; rinse well; and add to the boiling water. Boil for 3 minutes.
- Using the colander, drain the blanched potato slices and place in a large bowl.
- Add the minced garlic (if using), oil, salt and pepper the potatoes, and gently toss.
- Turn onto a lightly oiled parchment paper on 2 large baking pans – ensure that they are in a single layer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until lightly brown and crisp. Stir often during baking time.
- Serve with Chipotle Mayonnaise or Sour Cream and Onion dip.
Chipotle Mayonnaise: Mix ½ teaspoon of smoky chipotle chili powder into ½ cup of mayonnaise … or finely chop one chipotle chili (canned in adobo sauce) and mix it into the mayonnaise.
Sour Cream and Onion Dip: Stir in some dried minced red onion bits or some granulated onion powder (about 1 teaspoon) into a 1/2 cup of sour cream. Stir in some finely chopped green onions or chives. Add a little salt and pepper.
