Oven-Baked French Fries
What do kids eat? Chicken fingers, tater tots, french fries, and the like, right? While my daughter has reached the table foods stage and does enjoy these delicacies, I’m determined to give her more “whole” foods and less processed or store- or restaurant-bought pre-packaged items. It’s not always convenient or possible, but I try.
Hence my latest experiment -french fries at home. We had bought a bag of sweet potato fries for the tot, knowing that she loves sweet potatoes and in an effort to continue this love. But, upon looking at the list of ingredients on the package, we soon realized that maybe these sweet potatoes weren’t quite as sweet as we had thought. Why not try to make them at home with an actual sweet potato?, I thought.
So I got out the mandoline and two newly purchased sweet potatoes and went to work. I followed Zesty’s recipe for homemade fries with several moderations - sweet potatoes in place of baking potatoes and omitting the salt and pepper. I also baked them for 30 minutes instead of 45, and the results were crispy, delicious and potato-y french fries without a ton of grease. In fact, I only used about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Be sure not to crowd the pan with fries - a single layer works best to crisp them up, and fewer fries means it’s easier to turn the fries, which should be done frequently. Also be sure to only bake what you’re going to eat - I found that the lack of copious amounts of oil meant that the fries harden up - rather than wilt - if kept longer than an hour or two.
on Oct 14th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Thanks for the shout out… and a great tip about not crowding the pan. very important and I forgot too mention it. I am glad you enjoyed your sweet potato fries.
zesty
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 10:04 am
I always parboil them, but soaking seems like it would be a lot easier! I’ll have to give that a try.
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 10:16 am
These look great! I’ve never had success making them like “real” fries, but maybe I’ll follow these instructions…
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Zesty ~ Thanks for the inspiration!
Patti ~ Soaking is definitely easier! Just 2 T or so of salt does the trick; in fact you’ll see all the starch at the bottom of the bowl when you drain the fries.
Maggie ~ Thanks! Do let me know how they turn out if you try this method for making the fries.
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 11:18 am
These look yummy! I love sweet potato fries so this recipe is definitely a “must try” for me! Thanks for sharing!
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
This is the kind of snack I could make a dent in! I love sweet potato - and these look wonderful.
on Oct 16th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Very good. I would like to try this with some thyme sprinkled on.
on Oct 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but I may have to give this a shot!
on Oct 19th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Thanks, everyone, for your kind comments. These really did turn out delicious, and a nice change to baked sweet or baking potatoes.
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 11:17 am
Juliet!
Superb! My only question would be: How do you evenly coat the potatoes with the olive oil?
Mine always have a few that didn’t get drizzled on, etc. and they look pathetic!
Thanks!
Gabi @ Mamaliga.com
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 11:25 am
Gabi ~ I just drizzle them with OO, but you could brush it on with a pastry brush to ensure even coating.
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Thanks Juliet!
Good idea! You know, what id I load OO in a regular sprayer? You know, the regular mister? What do you call those?
Cheers!
Gabi @ Mamaliga.com
on Oct 21st, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Oh, this guy? Misto Gourmet Brushed Aluminum Olive Oil Sprayer http://www.amazon.com/Misto-Gourmet-Brushed-Aluminum-Sprayer/dp/B00004SPZV%3FSubscriptionId%3D02E5W5871AJF7PMMMS82%26tag%3Dbella08-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00004SPZV?
I bet that would work really well too - and be easier than brushing with oil.
on Nov 6th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
[...] Fries (the authentic Pittsburgh sandwiches use deep fried fries) [...]
on Nov 10th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Wow, from the picture, you’d have no idea that they were baked. Usually baked fries just don’t look as appetizing but yours are making me drool =P
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 4:28 am
I’ve got my niece coming up to visit soon so I’m going to test these out on her! This might mena I have to test them out a few times before then though! They look really tasty so all I need to do now is work out how to make the little bags!
on Apr 29th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
Diane,
Thanks for your nice comments! The paper cones are super easy - follow steps 1-3 from this: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/paper-cones?autonomy_kw=paper%20cones&rsc=header_4 You might want to omit the craft glue, though - I just used a little dab of scotch tape to hold them together. Enjoy!
on May 5th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
It is great to make them at home, than buy them out
Thanks!