Cheesy fries

I know what you are thinking. That’s a picture of regular old potatoes. Where are the cheesy fries? Well, guess who completely forgot to take a picture of the fries they made… *raises hand* In my defense, I didn’t think this was worth jotting down until a few minutes ago…

When I make baked potato at home, my mother prefers wedges, because the middle is soft and there are more mushy parts than crispy parts. Unlike chips or fries. I do like potato wedges, but sometimes, I’m in the mood for chips. And today was one of those days. And yes, I am called the baked potato fries, but honestly? I hate deep frying and chucking things in the oven and hoping for the best is just easier.

Anyway, back to the potatoes… So I knew I had to make the chips soft, which would require keeping an eye on the oven so I don’t burn them, which I usually do.

To make these, I used medium sized potatoes because that’s all we had at home. Wash and peel them and then cut them into thin-ish strips. Thicker than a McDonald’s fry. A Burger King fry size is good.

I placed a silicone mat on a baking rack (I find that the potato sticks to the oil paper I use) and then dumped the potato on it. I added salt, pepper and corn flour (I don’t know if this worked, but the potato had a nice skin to it) and mixed it well. I usually add oil too, but I left it out this time, and don’t think it’s needed.

Then I arranged the chips neatly so they didn’t make any contact, and baked them at around 200C for as long as it took for them to be golden. Turn them a bit so all sides get a chance under the sun.

It was when I had a small corner piece that baked way before the others that I realised my first issue. I had added a bit too much pepper and my mother doesn’t like the pepper-heat (she doesn’t mind chillie-heat). So I knew that something was needed to cut the heat and what’s better than some cheese?

Once the chips were nice and golden, I put them in a bowl. At this point, the chips were more crunchy than soft. I added around a teaspoon of butter and let it sit in the middle of the potatoes. Then I grated some cheese (I used regular mozzarella) and mixed it all up with a spatula.

The butter and cheese will melt, making the potatoes soft, but also still somewhat crunchy. They were delicious! And you don’t really need to use a lot of cheese. Around three tablespoons (which, okay, is a lot in this economy) will bemore than enough if you aren’t looking for something too cheesy and heavy and greasy.

Now, I’m thinking this will also be nice with some roasted garlic chips and chopped up parsley. Or a wee bit of nai miris for added spice.