Crispy Garlic Oven Fries

 

For a long time I thought the only way to get decent fries was to deep fry them.  And since I don’t remember ever deep frying anything and don’t particularly plan to start I figured we had to go out to get decent fries for a treat.  But no, not really.  In fact now that I haven’t had fries except for homemade in quite a while I find I don’t really want anything except the fries that come out of my own oven.  They’re crunchy but soft, I can change how I spice them to however I want, and they taste like potatoes.  Yay!

Since today is a fairly quick post and lately I haven’t been able to think of any new and exciting topics to talk about I thought I’d post a couple pretty pictures.  We have a not so nice rose bush/tree in our yard.  I’m not sure whether it’s a tree or bush, but I lean towards tree because of it’s shape.  Anyways, when my husband was tearing the entire yard apart I made him save this poor little tree only to find out that most of it is dead, or died along the way.  In any case, the flours that are on it are gorgeous and smell amazing.  I’ll be sad to lose it when we have to rip it out again, so I’m hoping it recovers.

I took these a couple weeks ago and now they’re starting to fade, but we enjoyed them while they lasted, and brought quite a few into the house while we could 🙂

 

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Crispy Garlic Oven Fries

• 5-6 medium sized russet potatoes cut into 1/2″ or slightly smaller fries
• 2-3 tbsp flavorless oil(just enough to coat all the potatoes.  If you add too much, feel free to drain the excess from the pan, there should be no pools of oil)
• 1/2-3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• pinch onion powder
• a generous sprinkling of salt, at least 1/2 tsp or more depending on how many fries you cut

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Scrub your potatoes well.  You can peel them if you want, if not just cut any undesirable spots off before slicing into fries.  I make mine slightly less than 1/2″ wide but you can make yours as thin or thick as you like, just adjust baking time as needed so not to burn them.  Once all your fries are cut, place them in a colander and rinse them under cold water for a few minutes, mixing the potatoes with your hands to make sure all the edges are washed as this will remove some of the starch and help to make them crispier.  Drain, then dump the potatoes on a towel and pat dry.

Mix together the oil and seasonings.  Place the potatoes on your baking sheet and drizzle the oil and spice mixture over the fries and mix together with your hands to make sure all surfaces are covered then spread out evenly over the baking sheet so all the fries are in one layer and none of the fries are completely stuck together.  Edges touching slightly is OK, but if they’re completely stuck together the fries will be stuck together once baked.

Place in a middle rack in the oven and bake for 30 minutes before checking.  How long they need to bake will depend on your oven and on your potatoes so check your fries after half an hour by flipping a couple over and checking the bottom.  If the fries are stuck to the pan or aren’t golden on the bottom, bake 10 minutes longer before checking again.

Once the fries are golden on the bottom(be aware that the ones near the edges of the pan may be darker than the ones in the center, you can move your fries around if you like so they’re all evenly golden on the bottom) turn the broil on on medium heat if you have an option and broil just until the tops are golden and crisp looking.  While waiting for them to get golden, remove a couple from the sheet cool slightly and taste for saltiness.  If they aren’t salty enough add a generous pinch or two to the sheet of fries until they’re salty enough for you after they’re done cooking and after you’ve removed them from the oven.  Toss them so the salt is evenly distributed and serve while still hot.

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I served these along side my Falafel Burgers, but they taste amazing beside any burger or even on their own with ketchup.  They also make an amazing poutine 😀