Ordering meals in kits most every week for the past couple of years has taught me some handy stuff.
One: simply sautéing chicken breasts is never gonna make for a tasty entree, and
Two: if you know how to do it, making your own quite tasty and pretty darned crispity French fries is pretty darned simple. These beauties, to the left, started the day out as a couple of plain Russet potatoes, and just look at them now!
And yeh, I have been talking about not-fried fried potatoes for a while now; par boiling them, then air frying (quite nice) and all that, but, really, this is simply the easiest (and mebbe the best) method, especially if you are cooking for a crowd.
INGREDIENTS
•2 potatoes
•1 tbsp flour
•1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
•1/2 tsp pepper
•2 tsp garlic olive oil*
•Cooking spray
*Use plain olive oil, if you like.
Heat oven to 425º and line a baking pan with foil.
Note: for best results, do this next part, it was proven by science! well, at least an article on a reputable web site, so, close enough, I guess.
Set a rack into the baking pan and apply cooking spray.
Note: you can order racks to fit your baking pans on Amazon, or, I believe that some well-stocked cooking stores sell them as a set.
Wash potatoes, then slice into thin fries and set aside to dry.
Whisk the flour together with the Seasoned Salt and black pepper in a mixing bowl.
This is a good time to mention Julia Child’s rule of “always starting with a larger pot (or, in this case, bowl) than you think you need.” My two cut potatoes are kinda crowded in the first bowl I chose, making tossing a bother. Transferring to the bowl I should have started with, made all the difference.
Toss the potatoes with the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, and then with the garlic oil.
Arrange the fries in a single layer on the rack, apply a bit more cooking spray, and cook for fifteen minutes.
Flip the fries over, dust with a wee, tiny bit more cooking spray, and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the fries are golden brown and crispity.
Note 1: this made enough fries for two or three people. If you are cooking for more, use two pans and racks, one on an upper rack and one on a lower. When it comes time to turn the potatoes over, swap the pans positions as well, placing the one from the lower rack and the upper rack, etc. Your cooking time may increase.
Note 2: I have tried making these both on my oven’s regular and convection settings, and haven’t noticed all that much of a difference in the finished fries or the time they took.
Once the fries are as golden brown and crispity as you like, remove from the oven, dust with some Kosher salt, and serve pretty much immediately for best results.
Feel free to add to and/or mix up the seasonings if you like. Paprika could be nice, as could garlic and/or onion powder.
In any event, a nice batch o’ fries with not a lot of fuss nor muss.
And, don’t forget to try these as Potato Chips!