Verdict: Garlicky Baked Fries

When I saw Purple Foodie’s recipe for Garlicky Baked Fries linked from somewhere (a friend on Twitter, maybe?) I knew that I would have to make them.  I love potatoes, love roasting them, and have been experimenting with making fries lately.  I have to say, next time that I want to make fries, this is the methodology I’ll use.  The olive oil and cornstarch together contributed to make beautifully crispy wedges with a soft, pillowy inside.  They were delicious!  I’m already imagining how I could change up the other flavours — cinnamon and cayenne with sweet potatoes, for instance.

Garlicky Oven Fries
from Purple Foodie

8 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 russet potatoes (about 8oz each), each cut into 12 wedges
3 tbsp cornstarch/cornflour
1 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1. Preheat oven to 225°C/475° F.
2. Combine the garlic and oil in a large bowl, warming it until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Transfer 5 tablespoons of the oil (leaving the garlic in the bowl) to the baking dish, coating it well.
4. Add the potatoes to the bowl with the garlic mixture and toss to coat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and microwave on high power until the potatoes are translucent around the edges, 3 to 6 minutes, shaking the bowl to redistribute the potatoes halfway through cooking.
5. Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the hot potatoes and toss well to coat.
6. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning once, until deep golden brown and crisp, 30 to 40 minutes.

Now, my thoughts:

- I did not have 3 large russet potatoes, so I used 5 small ones, each cut into 8 wedges.
- My oven freaks out when it’s that hot and cooks very unreliably.  So I left it at 475 for the first 5 minutes, then turned it down to 425.
- Step 2, where it says to warm the bowl & garlic until fragrant?  Means to microwave it.
- I also tried to measure out 5 tablespoons of oil removed from the garlic.  This was a waste of my time.  Just use a fork to hold the garlic in the bowl and pour all of the olive oil out!
- I lined my baking pan with tinfoil and put it in the oven to preheat for a few minutes before I put the potatoes on it.  I read this as a trick to keep your potatoes from sticking to the pan and it works like a dream.
- Next time, I would not microwave the potatoes.  It just freaks me out.  I’d parboil them instead.
- 1.5 tsp of store-bought powdery ground black pepper is NOT the same as 1.5 tsp of “freshly ground” black pepper.  These fries were very very peppery and I can only assume this is because my pepper was ground so fine that it was far more volume than 1.5 tsp of coarsely ground fresh peppercorns would have been.  In retrospect, I could have used .5 tsp of my powdery ground pepper and it would have tasted fine.

To cope with my ultra-peppery fries, I mixed sour cream, lime juice, and a pinch of chili powder together into a dipping sauce. YUM!