These smell so good when they are cooking, it actually hurts. Hurts so good.

Adapted loosely from a recipe in Greatest Ever Potato, Papplewick Press, Nottingham, UK.

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Spicy Oven Fries

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb mixed potatoes (purple, red, gold, Russet, sweet – whatever is on hand)
• 3 tbsp (1.5 oz) butter, melted, or olive oil, or local sunflower oil
• 1 tsp chile powder (ground from home-dried red chiles from Madura Farm)
• 1 and 1/2 tsp sea salt

METHODS

1. Scrub potatoes well and trim off any shriveled skin or eyes, but keep the  majority of the potato peel. Fill a large bowl with cold water and 1 tsp salt. Slice potatoes, trying to keep the pieces evenly sized about the size of your little finger, and add slices to salted water. Let potato slices sit in the salt water for 20 minutes (aids in crisping the fries upon cooking).
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (375 degrees convection).
3. Drain potato slices and dry between two kitchen towels. Return to bowl and toss with melted butter, chile powder and remaining salt. Arrange in a single layer on two baking sheets so that fries do not touch. Roast, stirring occasionally, until nicely crispy, about 40 minutes.
4. Drain on paper towels or a brown paper bag. Serve hot, with homemade ketchup!

Serves 4 french-fry loving adults.

OPTIONS

1. Any spices or dried herbs will work: clear out last year’s herbs, indulge a craving for curry, or go basic with sea salt and black pepper.
2. I like a mix of potato types, which yields some fries that are super crispy and others that are softer with a pillowy inside. Sweet potatoes, however, tend to cook at a very different rate, so I generally cook those on their own.

STORE

Like all fries, these don’t really store well; if there are any leftovers, save in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and use as the potato in a frittata or casserole dish.

SEASON

Late summer sees early potatoes, but mainly fall and winter.