2.08.2011

incredible olive oil french fries

olive oil French fries, yes, oven-baked
These are truly incredible.  My seven year old niece was skeptical that I was making fries.  "In the oven?", she asked.  Later she said, "They smell like real fries."  And at dinner, she said they tasted like real fries too.  Then, I knew they were truly good.

Don't worry either, they don't have a distinctly olive oil flavour.  They just taste like utterly fantastic French fries.  Yes, you would pay money for them, and be quite happy about it.  And probably even happier if you watch your pennies, because a sack of potatoes is infinitely cheaper than the cost of soda.

I wish I could tell you that this recipe will make a big greasy mess, and that you have to find a particular kind of oil, and a particular kind of pot.  But you don't.  In fact, not even close.  Unfortunately, you do need a convection oven.  Okay, so there is a hitch.  Honestly though, until now, I have rarely used the convection features on my oven.  There just aren't many baked goods that I prefer burnt on the outside, but raw in the middle.  For fries though, convection is truly perfect.

olive oil French fries, yes, oven-baked
There are two convection features on my oven, and I have found that the one which circulates the most air takes significantly less time, so not all convection is necessarily created equal.  Essentially, potatoes contain a tonne of moisture which the convection helps to dry out, and crisp up the outside of the potato all at the same time.

What? No time to go to the spa?  Prepare for a steamy potato-like facial upon opening the oven door.  Watch your eyes.

Olive Oil French Fries

Ingredients:
Yukon gold potatoes - enough to not quite fill a cookie sheet
extra virgin olive oil - a couple tablespoons
sea salt

1.  Pre-heat the oven on convection to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cover a cookie sheet in parchment paper, or a silpat (just means a bit of an easier clean up;  I like to spend my time cooking, not cleaning).
2.  Wash, dry, and slice the potatoes (preferably with the peel still on), to a thickness you desire.  I liked about a centimeter thick, give or take.
3.  Place the fries to-be, on the cookie sheet, and spread evenly.  Drizzle with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.  If you're skeptical, you can always add more later.
4.  Place the cookie sheet in the oven, and leave it alone for at least 20 minutes.  Then, check it and carefully turn the fries.  This will help to spread the oil even more.
5.  Keep the fries in the oven until the top begins to look golden brown, then give them another turn.  Put them back in, and continue to bake until they are as crisp and as golden as you like.  This might be 45 minutes - 1 hour.  That's it.
6.  Oh right, sprinkle with salt immediately upon removing from the oven.

7 comments:

Biz said...

Those do look like "real" fries! I have a deep fryer that holds the temperature so well, that nothing is ever greasy.

I just need to not keep it on my counter because then I want to fry everything!

Michelle said...

This makes me want an oven with convection settings so badly! My mother used to make us homemade fries as a kid but always in the deep fryer. I've never had to courage to do that myself, but would totally try this!

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

~Love~
Potatoes, olive oil, and salt.

Aother Friday's favorite for sure :-)

kate said...

Oven fries are better than fried fries! These look delicious.

bucket trucks said...

These sound great and easy to make. The one thing about fries is they are so unhealthy. This looks like a good alternative the fattening fried kind.

Unknown said...

Good choice of using olive oil in baking potatoes. Others may say that canola are more healthy that olive oil but if you look into the bigger picture, olive oil is far much better. Canola oil may be lower in saturated fat, but it is refined using heat and chemicals and doesn't come close to offering the benefits of the nutrients in olive oil.

Jeff said...

Gail, I always wind up with a huge grin on my face when I read through your blog. Sometimes it's from being awestruck by the cooking or truly touched by your writing. This time it was out of familiarity. I've been doing potatoes like this for years. I cut mine slightly differently, and season with (usually) salt and pimenton, but the moisture you allude to leads to this perfect "singing" sound when I know I've cooked them correctly.

Those. Look. Fabulous. Glad to see you're all doing well.

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