Fat Fries

INGREDIENTS

SERVES 4

2 kg potatoes, the big dirty ones
salt
oil for deep(ish) frying - canola, rice bran or peanut

Method

- wash the potatoes using a brush to remove all the dirt but keep the skin. (you could buy washed, but I feel like this a nice step).

- cut the spuds into 2 cm thick chips. A trick to doing this really evenly is to shave one side of the potato so it sits flat on the board. then trim the left and right side of the potato so you can look at it as rectangle with a domed top and bottom. I find not doing this I end up with weird skinny bits, rather than all my hand cut chips being even.

- blanch these in heavily salted boiling water for 5 minutes.

- place on a cooling rack to dry completely, patting away any moisture with paper towel.

- use a large deep saucepan for frying, and only fill the oil to 1/3 way up the side. this why I call it deepish frying. I’m not set up or prepared to dunk drench in bubbling oil, but if you are and are comfortable… go for it!

- once the oil is hot, 180’c (a small piece of bread the size of a 5c piece will brown in 10 seconds at this heat!) blanch fry the spuds in batches until they begin to golden but still look very pale (about 2 minutes).

- set aside on a cooling rack so excess oil drips off. these can be kept at room temp for a few hours until you are ready to do the final fry.

- again, preheat your oil to 180’c and batch fry until golden and crisp (a further 2-3mins).

- place of a rack or paper towel briefly then toss them all in a large bowl with plenty of sea salt.

Perfectly paired with a reverse seared steak, bearnie, and salad!