French Fries!

posted in Vegetarian, Soups, Salads, Sides and Sauces, Appetizers and Snacks by Kathy Maister
Difficulty:

*Healthy* French Fries?

Sounds like a contradiction in terms, right? But here is a recipe, from Emeril Lagasse, that caught my eye.

Usually fries are made with a vat or pot of oil, which can be messy, quite a production, and have lots of calories. But these fries are coated with seasoned egg whites and baked in a very hot oven. The recipe uses only 2 teaspoons of oil! Nothing can compare to McDonald’s fries but these aren’t bad. (BTW Julia Child was a huge fan of McDonald’s French fries.)

Let’s get started: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees This is a very hot oven and will take about 15 minutes to preheat.

The ingredients needed for this recipe are:

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
2 large baking potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons of Essence

Essence is an Emeril thing. He makes it in huge quantities and uses it as sort of an *add to everything you cook* spice mix. For this recipe use:

1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

When you need to measure out a lot of spices, do it all at once, into a small dish. Line them up in the same order as they are listed in the recipe. After one spice is measured move it to the side, and go onto the next spice. This way you won’t forget anything!

Wash, peel and pat the potatoes dry and slice them lengthwise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Turn each slice flat and slice again lengthwise into even fries, 1/2-inch thick.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg white until very light and foamy. Add the spices to the egg whites and make sure they are well blended.

Now add the potatoes and make sure the egg white and spice mixture coat all the potatoes.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet with sides. Smear 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil over the parchment paper.

Spread the coated potatoes on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes. With a spatula, scrape the potatoes from the baking sheet and turn them over. Hang onto the parchment paper when you are turning the fries, so that it doesn’t slide all over the place!

Continue baking for another 15 minutes or until they are golden. Carefully remove them with a spatula to a serving plate. Serve immediately.

If you don’t have any parchment paper, use a non-stick baking sheet with sides. But believe me, the parchment will save on clean-up time!

Cheers!

You can view and print this recipe here.

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20 comments

Beth

I often wondered what was in Emerils "ESSENCE". I received a shaker full of it as a gift from my sister once but never knew the contents. It is good to have the recipe now.

Thanks

Beth Best
Calgary

will

Kathy,

what does the egg-white do in this recipe ?

Will

Kathy Maister

Will, because you use so very little oil, I’m sure the egg white is there to help to make the fries crispy. (I’ll bet you could make this without the egg whites, but I thought it was an *interesting* take on making French Fries.

Beth if you wanted to make a BIG batch of *Essence* here is the *Official* recipe from Emeril’s site. (I did take just a bit of creative liberty in cutting these proportions down while making my fries.)

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as Bayou Blast):

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

will

That makes sense Kathy, thanks !

Ian Welsh

With due apologies to Julia Child :) the best fries I ever had were made by one of my uncles - we'd put them through this device that was large enough for a potato - you'd press it and it'd cut the fries up for you, then into the deep frier.

Unhealthy? Yup! Tasty?

Heaven.

But I'll definitely give these fries a change - I love fries, but, well, unhealthy. Hopefully these'll remind me of my uncle's.

Kathy Maister

Ian, I can't imagine Emeril's fries come even close to your uncle's fries! What makes these fries work, are all the spices!

ninni

is it okay to not use emeril's essence

Kathy Maister

Hi Ninni, you can use any spices you like, but salt and pepper are a must! Cheers!

I just want to say "WOW"! I've never left feedback or anything like this before. I LOVE french fries but I don't eat them as often as I'd like.(not very healthy) I must say that I was very unsure of how these would taste being made in the oven and with egg whites.Although I used my own seasonings, I was shocked at how good they were! I did try to make them the first time without the parchment paper, what a mistake. They stuck to the pan.The parchment paper makes such a difference. I have told all my friends and family about this recipe and everyone that has tried it, LOVES IT! What a GREAT idea! I can now love fries again!

Thanks,

TY Connecticut

Kathy Maister

Hi Ty! I'm delighted to hear how much you like this recipe. You are so right about the parchment paper!

laura

Sweet potato fries are also great! I coat mine with a little olive oil, season with pepper and kosher salt, and bake at about 400 for 30-40 mins, turning once

I prefer them to regular fries!

poop

yumm yumm yumm yumm yumm yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Nina @ Silver Ring

Ohmigod i can just imagine how good they must smell with all of these spices! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

maggie

I am a Chinese customer,I saw your website, Do you know the vegetable parchment paper? I want to buy the vegetable parchment paper,but I don't know the paper company's name or website,Do you know the vegetable parchment paper name?Can you tell me that?thanks very much~I'm waiting for your answer

startcooking

Sorry Maggie, but I have no idea where you would get vegetable parchment paper.
Perhaps you could ask your local grocer to order it for you?
Good Luck!
Kathy

Sam B

For those of you who don't keep 16oz (or more) jars of as many spices as possible handy and are looking to switch it up, Mrs. Dash seasoning mixes are a great alternative to Emeril's essence seasonings. I can't vouch for the Fiesta Lime or Caribbean Citrus, but the Garlic and Herb, Extra Spicy and Southwest Chipotle are pretty solid choices.

startcooking

Hi Sam,
Buying spices mixes can be a great money saver in the long run. I particularly like pumpkin pie spice mix as it has a combination of the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves all in one small jar.
One does have to be careful that these spice mixes do not have extra additives that only extend the shelf life of the product.

Angelica

I love this recipe but how many servings does this make? and what is the nutritional facts for this recipe ?

startcooking

Angelica,
This recipe makes two servings.
Kathy

Thalia

Oh these were wonderful! I just made them a few minutes ago, the came out nice and crispy:) Great job! Keep posting some more videos!

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