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Salt-and-Vinegar Baked Fries

Source of Recipe

From "Cravings: Hungry for More" by Chrissy Teigen


Recipe Introduction

"These are an edible optical illusion—they look like plain old fries, but a) they are baked! and b) bite into them and you get that sour salt-and-vinegar kick usually found only inside a bag of chips. I'm all for less oil when you don't sacrifice the yum, and this is one of those cases. You have to boil them first to really get that distinctive mouth-puckering flavor all up inside, but baking them after their hot-water soak makes the outsides super-crisp and the insides perfectly fluffy."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cups distilled white vinegar
â—¦ ¼ cup kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
â—¦ 4 large russet potatoes (about 3 pounds), skin on, scrubbed
â—¦ 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
â—¦ Finely chopped chives, for garnish


Recipe

Preheat the oven to 450° F.
In a large pot, combine 6 cups water, the vinegar, and ¼ cup kosher salt and bring to a boil over high heat.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes: Stand each potato up on its long side and cut it lengthwise into ½-inch-thick ovals. Stack the ovals and cut them lengthwise into batons (basically, make French-fry shapes, okay?).

Line a baking sheet with a kitchen towel. Put the potatoes into the water (it's okay if it's not boiling yet), bring to a boil, and boil for 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon (be careful not to break them; they should still be sort of firm but bendy) to the lined baking sheet to soak up all the additional liquid. Spread the potatoes out in one layer and blot them dry with paper towels. Let cool.

Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and toss with 2 tablespoons of the oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Divide the remaining 4 tablespoons oil between two large rimmed baking sheets (2 tablespoons per sheet).

Heat the oiled sheets in the oven until very hot but not smoking, 5 to 6 minutes. Using an oven mitt, remove the sheets from the oven and quickly divide the potatoes between them, making sure they all actually sit on the surface of the pan. Return to the oven and bake until the undersides are brown and crisp and the top edges are darkened, about 20 minutes. Open the oven, scrape the fries with a metal spatula to turn them, then bake until the fries are golden and crisp all around, another 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and season with more salt. Garnish with chives.

Serves 4