Crispy, golden, deliciously seasoned oven baked fries.
My first time living on my own was back in my early twenties when I was still residing in New York. My mother went to North Carolina for a few months and I stayed behind with my dog, Buddy
(I usually call him Shrimp) and an empty kitchen to use to my heart’s content. That was when I began learning how to cook. For as long as I could remember I was always interested in cooking, but I never cooked much other than soup and pad prik khing (don’t ask LOL).
For the majority of my life, my inner foodie got by binge-watching the Barefoot Contessa and drooling over internet recipes. Once I was on my own, I knew it was my time to shine. For my first living-on-my-own adult meal, I made these oven baked fries. Looking back at this now is funny to me. Next Thursday, I will be hosting my very first Thanksgiving dinner at my place (pizza!!) and here I am reminiscing on the first meal I made while on my own. I’ve come a long way in the kitchen. š
I wish I could tell you how much I blossomed in the kitchen those few months, how I made a plethora of new dishes and how well I honed my cooking skills. Instead, I will tell you the truth. I bought a jumbo bag of frozen chicken nuggets (pre-vegan days) and a bag of russets every time I did my grocery shopping and that was my diet for three months. I was truly living the young adult dream.
Since then, I’ve made oven baked fries more than I care to recall so I guess in a way I did hone something. I believe I have perfected the art of oven baked fries. My best weapon for crispy oven baked fries is cold water. Despite me thinking my first batch of fries were the most perfect spuds to ever exist, they were quite soggy. Soaking your cut potatoes in cold water removes the starch, which creates a crispier fry. Don’t skip this step! The rest is quite easy, so let’s get to the recipe!
- 2 large russet potatoes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
- cracked black pepper
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Wash and cut potatoes into ¼ inch matchsticks (you can peel if you want)
- Add potatoes to a big mixing bowl of cold water and let them soak for 15 minutes
- Strain the potatoes and pat them dry- dry off your mixing bowl as well
- Add the dry potatoes back to the mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil and seasonings
- Arrange potatoes onto 2 baking sheets, making sure they don't overlap each other
- Bake for 20 minutes, flip and then bake for an additional 5-10 minutes
- Serve with lots of ketchup!
Oh my gosh! Didn’t know this kitchen hack! Couldn’t understand why my fries never came crispy in the oven(unless I burned them,lol)!