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| Garlic French Fries |
It's no secret that
I love my grandparents. And I love that, no matter how busy or hectic my life gets, I always have time to talk to my grandmother on the telephone at least once a week, typically over my Sunday morning coffee. With that being said, making these
Garlic French Fries a few weeks ago immediately reminded me of her. You see, my grandmother
loves garlic. She loves it so much that I wouldn't put it past her to peel back a head of raw garlic and take a bite out of it as if it were an apple. In fact, one of my favorite memories of my grandmother involves her love for garlic.
When I was in
college, my parents and grandparents visited for a weekend in order to attend one of my
Wind Ensemble concerts. Per tradition, we all piled into cars after the concert and headed over to
Pane e Vino, which I'm pretty sure is closed now (SAD), for dinner. One of the things that made dinners at
Pane e Vino so enjoyable was their garlic rolls, served warm with overly generous spoonfuls of chopped garlic piled on top of them and a healthy drizzle of olive oil. Because the rolls were so delicious, it never took long to devour them, with diners leaving only cast-off pieces of garlic and tiny pools of olive oil on the plate. However, my grandmother didn't want to waste that garlic. Every now and then, when she thought we weren't looking, she'd snatch bits of garlic from the plate with her fingers until all of it was gone. And then, she started swiping her forefinger across the plate before licking it so she could savor the garlic-flavored oil, too. Given the opportunity, I'm positive she would have picked up that plate and licked it clean!
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| Garlic French Fries |
These
Garlic French Fries are just as sinful as the garlic rolls from
Pane e Vino and they're just as packed with flavor. (I think the four cloves of garlic have something to do with that flavor!) Thankfully, you don't have to feel
too guilty about eating these fries because they're baked in the oven rather than deep-fried in a vat of oil. Just a final word of caution before you run to the kitchen to bake up a batch... I
almost named this recipe "Good Thing I'm Not Kissing Anyone Tonight Garlic French Fries," so plan accordingly!
Garlic French Fries
Printable Recipe
3 medium russet potatoes
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Handful fresh Italian parsley, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Peel potatoes and slice into sticks 1/4-inch thick. Place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. While the potatoes are soaking, mince the garlic. Place the olive oil and garlic in a small pan. Turn the heat on medium-low to medium and cook the garlic in the oil until the garlic has just started to turn brown. Pull the oil off the heat and remove the garlic with a fine mesh strainer. Place the garlic in a bowl and set aside.
Drain the potatoes. Pat all excess water off the potatoes with a kitchen towel until they're dry. In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the garlic-infused oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread potatoes on a large non-stick baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the potatoes with
kitchen tongs. Place the potatoes back in the oven and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Remove the fries from the baking sheet and place on a serving plate. Sprinkle the fries with the cooked garlic (to taste) and chopped parsley. If necessary, season again with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.
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