Quick and Easy Non-Fried French Fries



So yup, my food needs have changed yet again. The lightning-quick changes in my desires and abilities (both eating and non-eating!) brought to me by el bun in el oven really do keep me on the edge of my seat.



FOR EXAMPLE. Last week I couldn't TOUCH anything greasy. I couldn't eat much more than bland bread and soup (although it was really good soup, right? right?), and was lucky if I could force down three meals a day.



THIS week, so help me, I gotta eat! I'm trying to be practical about it, you know, wise. Not eat too much, pile it all on there. But it really is stunning to go from completely full for the day on one meal, to eating that same meal three or four times a day and still starving again only two hours later.



This could get expensive.



So anyways, today this flash flood of hunger hits me about two hours after breakfast. I run into the kitchen, flinging garlic bulbs, dry black beans, and other inedibles (at least non-instant edibles) aside, desperate for something I can put in my stomach and fast.



While I'm flinging, I notice some lovely yukon gold potatoes hanging around. And I says to myself, "Boy I wish I'd known an hour ago I would feel like this. I would have put these in the oven for baked potatoes. *Sigh* No time for that now."



And that's when I remembered...this recipe. Quick and easy non-fried French fries, an old favorite I used to make all the time, and then inexplicably forgot completely. Until this morning.



And I want to share it with you. Do you, like me, want to turn inedible raw taters into crispy, salty goodness in about twenty minutes? Have a look-see.



Now as you may have noticed from the title of the post, these fries are not actually fried (bakes?). They are baked, but they are broiled with olive oil beforehand to give them that requisite crispiness. The effect is wonderful - crispy and smooth flavor, but soft and warm and potato-y on the inside. They are like those home fries you get at the good restaurants and you're like, now I KNOW these were not frozen ten minutes ago!



Another great thing about this recipe is that it is flexible. You could use any kind of potato for it, including sweet potatoes and yams. I've done both in the past and they've turned out amazing. Fast, healthy (well, moreso than other fries), filling and flexible. Yup. That'll do!

Quick and Easy Non-Fried French Fries (adapted from the Student's Vegetarian Cookbook, a lovely little book that has been with me for quite some time)

Some potatoes (like how exact I'm being? Make as much as you want!)
Some olive oil
Some seasonings (my favorites are simple, salt, pepper, and chili powder - but you could go all sagey and extravagant if you wanted! Follow your french-fried heart)

Heat the oven to broil.

In the meantime, chop up them taters (this is what it looks like when I write a recipe from memory, okay?), matchstick like, or whatever thickness you prefer. Drizzle them with olive oil, and then toss them around so they get coated.

Season how you like.

Spread on a baking sheet, so none are piled up or touching.

Broil, 3-4 minutes or until they reach the brownness you prefer. Then pull them ou, flip them with a spatula, and broil them on the other side until they are even.

Turn oven heat down to 400, and move the pan onto a lower shelf. Let them bake about 10 - 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them for burnage (I burned my first few batches when I started making these, it's best to watch them close at first).

Eat 'em up! For this batch I made a quick sour cream dipping sauce, with salt and chili powder stirred in, but they are good with anything fries are good with. Ranch, ketchup, mayonnaise, you name it.

2 comments:

Cakebrain said...

non-fried french fries! what a healthy concept! I could eat a plate full with the sour cream dipping sauce!

amlamonte said...

i did cakebrain! i did. and i will probably do it again tonight. :)