Is There Anything Better than a Crispy Potato Dunked in Something Delicious?
Thick and crisp oven baked fries are a thing of beauty. I really don’t think of them as fries, per se. They’re bigger, so there’s more creamy inside of the potato and by tossing them in a couple teaspoons of rice flour, olive oil, and seasoning, you end up with a really good crisp exterior. Is it the equivalent of an actual French fry? No, of course not. But who cares? These are delicious enough to stand on their own and I don’t feel short changed. I love these for what they are.
I adapted Ottolenghi’s cooking technique for the potatoes, which I mentioned above, added some ground black lime * to the seasoning and sprinkled on a little more when they came out of the oven.
I think these kinds of potatoes beg to be dunked in something. Since I was serving them with steak, I decided an aioli would be a good choice. I seasoned it with plenty of smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper, cayenne pepper, a little tomato paste, Dijon mustard, and garlic. I held off on adding the acid component until after it had been emulsified because I wasn’t sure how much would be needed.
Tomato vinegar * is new to me. I only recently heard about it and had to give it a try. This was my first time tasting it. I wanted to keep the aioli tomato centric in flavor, and decided to use this vinegar rather than citrus juice, which I normally add. Well, tomato vinegar is a very good thing, folks. It is full of tomato flavor and has plenty of umami, besides the acid component. Talk about a powerhouse of flavor. My aioli was now almost perfect. I stirred in some nigella seeds * and it was ready to go.
The only thing the potatoes needed once they came out of the oven was an additional sprinkle of ground black lime and I was all set. And just as I suspected, they were so good dunked in the smoky tomato aioli. They’re a superb partner for a nice ribeye.
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Baked Black Lime Fries with Smoky Tomato Aioli
4-6
servingsThick sticks of potatoes are tossed in a little rice flour, olive oil and ground black lime. They bake up super crisp and nice and soft inside. They're then served with an aioli made with smoked paprika, Aleppo pepper, tomato vinegar, and nigella seeds. Irresistible!
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Ingredients
- Smoky Tomato Aioli
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 small garlic clove, grated
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes *
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Several grinds black pepper
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup light olive oil - not extra virgin
1 tablespoon tomato vinegar *
2 teaspoons nigella seeds *
- Baked Black Lime Fries
2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed, skin on, sliced lengthwise into 3/4 inch thick sticks.
2 teaspoons rice flour
1 teaspoon finely ground black lime *, plus more for sprinkling on the potatoes when they’re done
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Directions
- Smoky Tomato Aioli
- Combine the first 9 ingredients (egg yolks through black pepper) in a mini food processor and blend until thoroughly combined. With the processor running, drizzle in the olive oil in drops to begin with. After it begins to emulsify and thicken, you can add the remaining olive oil and vegetable oil in a small steady stream. It will be very thick by the time all the oil is added. Add the vinegar and process briefly. Taste for seasoning. Remove from the processor and stir in the nigella seeds. Chill until 30 minutes before serving. If it seems too thick, stir in a teaspoon or so of water in order to thin it out.
- Baked Black Lime Fries
- Preheat the oven to 400° with a rack in the center. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Add the potato sticks to the pan and toss with the rice flour, black lime, oil, and 1 teaspoon fine sea salt. Cover the tray tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, turn up the heat to 425° and return the pan of potatoes to the oven. Bake for 15 more minutes. Flip the potatoes, put them back in the oven and bake for 25 more minutes, until golden and crispy. Let cool for about 5 minutes and sprinkle with some additional ground black lime. Serve with the Smoky Tomato Aioli and Enjoy!
4 Responses
Oh, Renee, I know I already thanked you on MS, but I had to report to you what my husband said this morning . I told him I was thinking about those potatoes again, and he said to me, “Don’t ever make potatoes any other way again. Those were so great.” LOL. He is what I would call a super taster. He can taste stuff I cannot and, as such, has a very definite palate. I like everything, but he doesn’t. However, he DEFINITELY likes your potatoes and the aioli. Thanks again!!
Karen, this is one of my favorite comments of all time!! I love it so much! I couldn’t be happier to hear this. Tell your husband I’m a “super taster”, too, so I fully understand where he’s coming from. Thank you so much for letting me this message. I greatly appreciate it!
Renee, to answer your opening statement, “There is nothing better than a crispy potato dunked in something delicious!” The taste of these black lime fries was phenomenal! The ground black lime gave the fries a subtle tangy/salty flavor.
While this may not be a politically correct thing to say, these wonderfully seasoned potatoes could have easily been called “crack fries” because I couldn’t stop eating them!
Renee, you nailed this recipe cold!
Speaking of cold…During my cleanup, I “discovered” a lone, cold fry on my baking sheet. After I popped the fry in my mouth, I was pleasantly surprised that it was still crispy and delicious! Winner!!
Sherman, I couldn’t love this more if I tried!!! Thank you so much for the wonderful review. BTW, I feel the same about these potatoes and aioli – politically correct or not. Lol!!