Who DOESN’T love fat-free French Fries? It’s America’s favorite vegetable! (And yes, sadly, in some places the “french fry” is considered a vegetable – not the potato)
Start with some good quality spuds. I like Yukon Golds myself, but a good Russet will work nicely too. Scrub them up and remove any eyes or green spots you may find.
With Golds, you don’t really have to peel them, or at least I don’t. Just give them a good scrubbing first. If you don’t like peels on your fries, then peel away.
Add some cold water to your cooking pot, and as you slice up your potatoes drop them in. I slice mine pretty thick, as you’ll see why in just a minute. Make them a good ¾” to an inch wide and thick.
After all the fries are in the water, turn the heat on high and wait for it to start boiling. Always add potatoes to COLD water as they will heat more evenly.
Once it comes to a boil, set your timer for 5 minutes and start preheating your oven to 425 degrees. You can also take this time to line your favorite cookie sheet with parchment paper. Sure makes cleanup a breeze.
Once the timer goes off, drain the potatoes and then put them back into the pot.
Here comes the magic part……
Add 1 tablespoon of flour, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and chili powder to the potatoes in the pot. You can also add salt and pepper now if you want, or wait until they’re done.
Now place the lid securely on the pot, and while holding both the pot and lid in place….
SHAKE IT UP!
A good 5-10 seconds of shaking will not only distribute all the seasonings to the potatoes, but it will also smash up the edges a bit – and these are the yummy parts that get crispy!
After a good shaking or two, spread these babies out on your cookie sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes.
What comes out is pure fat free french fry heaven.
Now if you didn’t slice your fries thick enough, as I mentioned earlier, they will just turn to mush at this step. Oh they’ll bake up just fine, but they won’t be french fries. They’ll be nicely browned, amoeba like, globs of potatoes.
But hey – if that’s your thing…. 🙂
