Deep South Eats: Oven Baked Fries

I gave up french fries for Lent (no I am not Catholic but just found inspiration in giving up something for a period of time). I found that when you know you aren't going to eat french fries, you make a healthier overall eating choice. After the time period was over, however, I found that I didn't quite love french fries as much as I had before....I had learned to live without them...gasp!


In the past, I have made oven fries because they were such a healthier alternative. The problem with past attempts is that half of them would be burnt and the other half soggy and uncooked. While the majority of the problem could be an uneven cooking oven (say that three times fast), I knew there was a solution out there for my oven fry conundrum.


Turns out that you soak them in ice-cold water for 30 minutes to an hour before cooking. It helps remove the starch of the potatoes, keeps them from browning, and allows them to crisp much more evenly. To say that we were thrilled with the result of these Oven Baked Fries would be an understatement. There are so many ways you can add variation to them and create different flavors. I am trying them with a little bit of truffle oil and fresh Parmesan this week for a little steak and pomme frites meal.

Ingredients:

• 6 Idaho potatoes peeled and sliced into 1/3 inch-thick French fry sticks and soaked in ice-cold water
• 4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese (original calls for 2 cups but I didn't want too much cheese)
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped
• 4 Tablespoons salted butter, cubed
• Kosher salt and black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Drain potatoes and pat dry with paper towels.
• Spread 1 Tablespoon of olive oil on each of 2 rimmed baking sheets. Spread out the potatoes. Some overlap is fine but try to minimize if possible)
• Sprinkle the dried Italian seasoning, cheese and parsley evenly over the potatoes.. Drizzle the remaining 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over the potatoes and scatter the butter cubes around the pans.
• Bake until potatoes are golden-brown, rotating the pans after 30 minutes, for 45 minutes to 50 minutes total. Use a spatula to lift the potatoes off the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.
• Recipe may be halved or doubled.

* I grated a little extra Asiago cheese over the top just because it was in my fridge and it added a nice flavor.

Original Recipe from Martha Stewart.

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