Monday, January 9, 2012

Eating Light: Oven Baked French Fries

Oven Baked French Fries
 As many of you are, I am also eating a little healthier after the Holiday binge that takes place in my household from Halloween to Christmas.  We ended with the final party, little Baby Bodhi's second birthday party!  It was fabulous, but now its time to prepare for triathlon season and lose the few extra pounds that I found.

Eating healthier doesn't mean that we have to give up flavor.  I've discovered a way to make one of my favorite indulgent dishes at home in a healthier and lighter manner.  Baby Bodhi craves these late at night, early in the morning and every afternoon.  He calls them "FeFies," I call them delicious.

The trick to getting crispy, salty, oven baked french fries is rinsing them in very cold water before you bake them.  It washes all the extra starch from the potatoes and helps them absorb the olive oil and salt.  If you love french fries, and you're looking to lighten up, then you'll LOVE these.

Oven Baked French Fries

Oven Baked
French Fries
Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 15 minutes / Servings: 2

Ingredients:
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
Steps:
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Peel the potatoes and slice them into 1/2" thick slices.  Cut the slices again into 1/2" sticks, about 4-5 fries per slice.
  3. Place the fries in a strainer and run under cold water for 2-3 minutes, stirring the fries with your hands.  The water will run clear from the fries (it will be cloudy at first) and stiffen up a bit when they're ready.  Pat the fries dry with a paper towel.
  4. Place the fries on a cookie sheet and drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt.  Mix again with your hands until all the fries are coated.
  5. Arrange the fries on the cookie sheet so that they're not touching each other and every fry has some space, flat on the cookie sheet.  Use two cookie sheets if necessary.
  6. Bake the fries in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Flip them over with a spatula and bake for another 5 minutes until crispy and golden brown. Place them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.  Plate and serve.
Oven Baked French Fries




6 comments:

  1. Looks delicious! I will make these tomorrow :)

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  2. Thanks Hoop! I am going to try these soon. I am going to attempt English "Fish and Chips" but want the fries from the oven rather than fried. Don't suppose you have a good batter recipe for fried fish? All the best H. JP

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  3. *PS: Looking for a beer batter recipe....just to clarify! JP

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  4. Thanks guys! Joe, I posted a recipe for beer batter on your Facebook page. Lemme know how it goes! Preparing for St. Patty's day already?!

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  5. I made your fries for lunch today and they were delicious, I think the trick of washing them off before baking them is key. I didn't have any olive oil so I used vegetable oil instead and sprinkled with salt and pepper and they were amazing! Thanks for the recipe :)

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  6. YaY Michael, I'm so glad you liked them! Yes, I never had crispy oven baked fries until I washed them first! YUM!

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