Whenever I make these baked french fries, we just can't get enough of them! They really are good!
If you're wondering why it looks like some of my french fries have turned an interesting shade of blue, it's because they are made with blue potatoes. They're called Russian Blue, and I grew them myself this summer. The deeper color signifies the presence of antioxidants, so these potatoes are actually very nutritious (but taste just like regular potatoes), and hey, they're just fun to eat! This summer I grew orange and pink tomatoes, purple cauliflower and beans, yellow cucumbers and blue potatoes-- I feel just a little bit like Sam I Am. Yes, I could and I would eat greens eggs and ham.
Baked French Fries
Ingredients:
- Potatoes (regular or sweet potatoes/yams are a nice variation although they take just a little bit longer to cook)
- Coconut Oil (unrefined or virgin is best)
- Sea salt
Preheat oven to 350 F. (Edit: I now usually bake them at 400 or even 415 F. I find they stay crispier and cook up a bit faster.)
Scrub and slice potatoes. Coat slices well in coconut oil (I find it easiest to do this by putting them in a plastic bowl with a lid, adding the oil, and then shaking them for a minute or two). Add a bit of extra coconut oil to the cookie sheet as well. (Another edit: My preferred method for oiling the fries is now to put frozen chunks of beef tallow, or else a spoonful of coconut oil, on the pan and stick it in the oven while it preheats. The oil melts nicely and the pre-warmed tray helps them cook better)
Spread slices out on oiled cookie sheet. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
Bake for 20 minutes, then flip. Bake another 20 minutes and flip again. Then bake for 10-20 minutes until finished, depending how crisp you like them.
A very yummy (and still healthy) addition to any late summer or early autumn meal!
Any other french fry lovers out there? And just out of curiosity, what do you think of the whole blue potato idea?
I LOVE this website, thank you... These look great, but I can never get them right. I make Sweet Potato chips 1 Friday night a month. I melt the virgin organic coconut oil in my cast iron pan and then shave (using the peeler) the sweet potato in strips... fry them up and YUMMY!!! A very special Friday night treat to go with you cheeseburger
My coconut oil is the organic refined one.... and not virgin. Hopefully that doesn't throw off the recipe. Also, do you have to melt the coconut oil before? or will it just naturally break up when shaken in the bag with the potatoes? Mine is super thick and I use to to bake. Normally I melt it with honey...
(I know this is an older post connected with a recent post but just had to comment:)
"I feel just a little bit like Sam I Am. Yes, I could and I would eat greens eggs and ham. "
They serve a "Green Eggs and Hamwich" at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure Orlando in the Seussland area - all they do is mix fresh parsley with scrambled eggs (blender maybe?) to get the eggs very green, then make kind of like an omlette and serve it with ham on bread :) We asked why they don't have green ham and the guy said "If the ham was green, that means it has gone bad." ;o)
.-= Mama Eva´s last blog ..Follow-up to "My 3-hour-tour..." 2009 =-.
I usually make sweet potato fries, skin-on, on my pizza stone so they crisp a little better (and don't stick). I have my first batch of uncooked fries in the freezer- hoping I can land on a way to make a frugal, healthful version of that convenience food!
I must say that Homemade item always good for health. I tried this one yesterday. It is so delicious. My wife liked it very much. Now I can say that I can make a delicious food also. Ha Ha! Thank you very much for sharing a nice recipe with us.
I love this type of "french fry" made with sweet potatoes!!
Those look fabulous!! I love oven fries. Not a big fries person in general, but oven fries rule me everytime I make them. ha!
I love the Blue potatoes! Yum! Oh, the joy of living in the Pacific Northwest and the endless access to growing/purchasing produce. *sob*
Not sure on blue potatoes....
But I've done this lots of times. We season them a bit differently though. We've done basil, a dash of red pepper, and fresh crushed garlic. No salt. They really taste just like curly fries if you do them this way, but no yucky processed stuff! We eat them a lot too! We occasionally use olive oil, but keep the oven below 350 if we do so we don't create trans fats.
I'm THERE with the whole blue potato idea! The picture is so pretty! I spent some time growing up in South America, and had some blue/purple "potatoes" there that were called eddo (sp?) by the Guyanese - I thought they were so cool and they were very moist and delicious! Besides, I remember the basic rule that if an heirloom variety is deeply colored, it's more nutritious. I have purple and green cauliflower seeds I'm starting today (I live in FL) and plan to get as many colors of potatoes growing as I can.
I think this post ties in well with your previous post... doing him good. French fries spells out doing him good in my family :-)
Hes
Great to know about Russian Blues. I have those in my garden now and didn't know about the antioxidant properties. I'll try this out tomorrow.
I did this exact same thing earlier in the season (except with olive oil, I didn't even think to use coconut oil) with the purple potatoes we got in our CSA box. It was fun, and they were awesome! I will try the coconut oil next time. Thanks for the idea!
Oh, my...
I can't even explain how much of a french fry lover I am. ;) And I've made them homemade and absolutely loved them. These look delicious.
And I'm happy to know there are potatoes so good for you. I might have to look into blue potatoes, and thus not feel as guilty for my french fry addiction!
Though I should mention that one of the coconut oil brands I've used is the Mountain Rose Herb's unrefined organic coconut oil. My MIL, SIL and I split a 5 gallon tub and so it was really affordable. It definitely does still have some scent and taste, but I didn't think it was nearly as strong as others I've tried (like Garden of Life, which is particularly strong!).
Nola, my coconut oil only has a very faint taste to it still. I don't use the really strongly flavored kind, because it's just more expensive and my husband doesn't care for it. You could definitely do this with olive oil, too, which is how I used to do mine. But I tried some with coconut oil at my friend's house a while back and we all just loved it, so that's what I've used ever since.
I think the blue potatoes look amazing! And I'm definitely going to try this when we have potatoes on the menu this week!
Thanks,
Jamie
Do you use the coconut oil that has the coconut "taste" to it still? I can't get over that taste. In fact, it makes me feel sick. But I am not sure the one that has the neutral taste is okay to use. I've always used olive oil to do the same thing in the oven with potatoes. We enjoy them too!
As for the blue potoates I think that is great. This year I also tried to use many different coloured veggies, mainly since I thought it was neat myself and also since I think its a great way to get a child even more interested in gardening. My 3 year old thought it was great that the beans and some carrots (heirloom here too) were purple, since that is her favourite colour. We also grew a neat lettuce called "darkness" that she happily ate even though it was fairly bitter just because it was a deep dark red colour. Next year I want to do even more coloured things that are out of the ordinary. I find it amazing that God made so many different beautiful vegetables and fruits and its sad that we can't get them anymore unless we grow them ourselves or perhaps at a farmer's market. The purple carrots (and white and pinkish ones) that I grew tasted just the same as the orange ones do and it was neat to not know the colour we would get as we pulled them up (it was a mixed seed pack). My daughter loved it.
These look so simple and delicious! I happen to think that blue potatoes are just a teensy bit sweeter than regular old potatoes, but in a blind taste test I agree that you wouldn't know the difference. I think my 3-year old son would absolutely LOVE the novelty of blue french fries. I should try this when I make fries with his chicken nuggets for dinner next week. Thanks for sharing!
I like you blue potatoes. And we always like to leave the skins on - much healthier and just delicious. Try heating the oven to about 425 and slicing them a bit thinner. It will make them crispier. My oven has a roasting feature which I use sometimes as well.
I'm going to try Cutzi's idea above by covering them with foil.
I usually slice them in rounds & put a (home mixed) seasoning on top of them. Yes, we love them. Haven't tried them with VCO, will have to give that a try.
I'm new to your blog but have been enjoying it a lot. I make something similar but got a tip from a local tex-mex restaurant owner. For the first 15 or 20 minutes of baking, cover them with foil and then cook the remainder of the time uncovered. It steams them and makes the insides soft and the outsides crispy. I cube them and add different spices as well... garlic, herbs from my garden, something spicy maybe... then we add them to burritos, have them for breakfast...mmm, I think I'll make some today.
FarmgirlCyn, they're definitely not GMO. They're an heirloom variety. I prefer to only plant only open-pollinated and heirloom seeds.
Amanda, those sound yummy with the mozza on top!
I have a huge bag of potatoes (our grocery store had a special, buy the potatoes, get celery, carrot and onion free!:)) and was just thinking this morning that I need a plan to use them all! Your post was PERFECT timing. I will be making these with veggie burgers this week!! Thanks!
i love making homemade "fries" like this. the other thing i do is preheat the pan (I use 9 x 13 metal casserole) with the oven. it helps to make the end result a little crispier. yum.
I make something very similar, but sprinkle Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, marjoram, thyme) on and add mozzarella on top when I flip them.
I make these myself, tho never with the blue potatoes. I think if they are not genetically altered, then blue potatoes would be great! I also grew some in my garden this year, but the red and the gold varieties!
Also grew yellow, pink and orange tomatoes...it was a veritable rainbow of color out there! (tho the blight took much of our crop)