Sometimes a girl just needs some fries—definitely with a burger, and maybe with some fish. So, when I am cooking at home and in desperate need of fries, I make this recipe, which is exceedingly simple, easy, and delicious. There have never been leftovers. Ever.
Simple Organic Fries:
Ingredients:
- 6 organic potatoes
- ¼ cup organic olive oil
- Salt to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Wash the potatoes, and peel if the skins are gnarly, or just cut off the bad spots and leave the good skin on. Cut the potatoes into fry shapes. Soak already cut fries in cold water as you cut remaining potatoes until they’re all done.
3. Dry the potatoes and place them in a roasting pan in a thin layer (don’t layer them too deeply, or they’ll be soggy). Liberally douse the potatoes with olive oil then toss with your hands to cover all (moisturizing your skin with the excess oil!). And flatten the potatoes into a layer on the tray again.
4. Sprinkle with salt and put the tray in the oven.
Skinny little fries can be done in a half hour. Fat fries can take an hour.
Roasted Potatoes (a variation)
If you are cooking for a crowd it’s hard to make enough fries, but you can make roasted potato chunks. The last two times I made them for about 20 people, using two giant roasting pans, and got rave reviews both times.
Follow the exact same recipe as above, but cut the potatoes into chunks instead of sticks. Add some butter chunks for extra yumminess!
I do the same with sweet potatoes, albeit they don’t get as crsip at white,russet or gold potatoes. I also make my own potato chips in the oven. First I dehydrate them to extract most of the water, (you don’t need to do this step) just slice the potatoes thinly, then I drizzle with olive oil and maybe some fresh herbs and salt and place in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the edges are light brown. Remove them from the oven and let cool until nicely crisped. I do this with red and gold beets also. It’s cheaper and healthier than buying them in a bag at the supermarket. You can control the salt and other seasonings and get a whole lot more for your dollar.
I’ve done the roasting thing, and although it’s a big hit with everyone, it takes too long to cook sometimes. I’ve discovered a short-cut, though. after oiling and seasoning the cut potatoes (I use halved baby Russets or baby white potatoes, and season liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder and extra virgin olive oil), I microwave them for about 6-9 minutes (depending on size of potatoes). They become almost fully cooked on the inside, and then a trip in the oven at 450 F crisps the outside up within 10-15 minutes! I think that’s a whole lot better than the hour-plus for the long way.
When I was a kid my mother had a french fry basket and a tin of lard that she used over and over. Those fries were so good. This recipe, however, is a good substitute when “a girl just has to have fries.” I sprinkle my fries with parsley – so I even get some greens! I love Diane’s short-cut idea of cooking them partially in the microwave.
For reeeally good roast potatoes, try boiling them for a few minutes first and then shaking them vigorously in a sieve. The boiling makes the insides really tender and the shaking roughens up the edges making the potatoes crinkle beautifully in the oven.
And for extra flavour for Tony’s roast potatoes, sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Fresh out of the garden is best but dried from the bottle will do!
I also make sweet potato fries in the oven, but lightly spritz the pan instead of the fries with oil, and sprinkle them with cinnamon. I turn them mid way through cooking, then turn the broiler on the for the last 5 minutes. They crisp up great.
I use Diane’s method on baked potatoes too. I start preheating the oven about the time I put the potatoes in the microwave. When the oven has preheated to about 400, I take the potatoes out of the microwave and move them to the oven. Usually 20 minutes will do nicely to crisp the outsides and finish cooking the insides.
On an unrelated note, if I’m eating a baked potato in a restaurant, they’re always too dry for my tastes. I ask for a coffee creamer if they have the liquid kind and just dump it on top of the potato along with the butter. Makes a huge difference in how moist it is.
If I have the time, I just bake the potatoes, if I don’t, I also microwave the potatoes first, or lightly boil them and then roast them at a high temperature in the oven. It sure does save a lot a time, especially if you’re very hungry or you have guests for dinner.
don’t forget the energy conservation by the lower oven time – which saves money too!
I recently had to give up salt to taste parts of recipes, but found that Mrs. Dash does wonders. I especially like the Mediterranean spices.
I sometimes roast broccoli alongside the potatoes… the same seasonings I mentioned before — liberally with salt, pepper, garlic powder and x-v olive oil. Roast until edges area nicely browned with charring on some parts. My kids are not veggie lovers, but they gobble these up! One thing, though, is that you have to make sure there’s enough room in between the broccoli pieces and that the heat is high (at least 400F) so that the broccoli doesn’t “steam”… it turns mushy and gray and not at all appetizing.
I like Linda’s idea of the DIY mashed potatoes, tableside, at restaurants! 🙂
I have a trick to make the oven-fries crispy and yummy. I toss them in a bowl with grated parmesan (and a little oil and paprika, but no additional salt), and then spread them out on a lightly oiled, foil-lined cookie sheet. When the parmesan is brown and crispy, the fries are done. My kids love it. (I also sometimes pre-heat the potatoes slightly in the microwave). I just use the cheap parmesan in the shaker can, i.e. Kraft or equivalent.
I’m glad I found these recipes as you get older you become more aware of your health and want to eat healtier and eliminate alot of artafical things that are found in our every day foods I’m going to try kate’s recipe thanks alot for all of your input .
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