Rosemary fries with roasted garlic dip

Rosemary fries with roasted garlic dip

rosemary fries roasted garlic dip

Lately, my favourite midnight snack is crispy rosemary fries with a roasted garlic dip (me) or ketchup (Duncan, who says that his childhood motto was ‘ketchup on everything’). I know, I know, eating too close to your bedtime isn’t really a good idea and perhaps I should not endorse it here… But we all have these moments when we had a healthy and light dinner, say 3 hours before going to bed, and then suddenly we find ourselves on a cliff hanger of Breaking Bad and we really want to find out what happened next but dinner is a distant memory and we’re getting peckish.

That’s when my rosemary fries come to the rescue – there is so little prep involved (ketchup will do) and they are so satisfying. Plus, aren’t potatoes (and fries by extension…?!) one of the most nutritionally complete foods 😉 ? You might have heard of Andrew Taylor, an Aussie who spent an entire year eating just potatoes in a bid to combat his food addiction and lose weight. We listened to his interview on Rich Roll’s podcast (check it out here) and found it really positive and inspiring.

Anyway, if your evening eating is a bit more under control than mine, you can simply have these for lunch with a big green salad. They smell so good that even my resident kitchen helper, Lupo, felt compelled to check them out. Who am I kidding? In four short weeks, she went from a bag of skin and bones to a relentless food beggar and thief. She begs and steals from much bigger cats as if we weren’t feeding her enough and she does manage to fool us at times even though we’re definitely feeding her as much as she should eat (and more).

The other day, I dropped a cube of sweet potato on the floor and she was inspecting it within seconds. Sweet potato must have met her ‘stringent’ food standards as she wolfed it down before I was able to stop her. She seemed happy enough, but I bet she was swearing at our veganism under her breath – “where is the fwish, hooman?” 🙂

rosemary fries and rosemary salt

would love me some rosemary fries

rosemary fries baked

rosemary fries sideview

serves
2-3
PREP
15 min
COOKING
35 min
serves
2-3
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
35 min
INGREDIENTS
FRIES

  • 500 g / 17.5 oz (3 medium) starchy variety potatoes*
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp coarse sea salt
  • 2 tsp dried rosemary
  • medium hot chilli flakes (I used Turkish pul biber)
  • ketchup, to serve (optional)

ROASTED GARLIC DIP

  • ½ cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
  • 15-30 ml / 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (we recommend this brand)
  • ¼ tsp dried rosemary, crushed into a fine powder
  • 3 large garlic cloves
  • ¼ tsp fine sea salt, adjust to taste
  • white (or black) pepper, to taste
METHOD
  1. If you have new potatoes, scrub them (peel them otherwise) really well and cut into 1.25 cm / 0.5″ wide batons. Try to make them as even as possible so that they cook evenly.
  2. OPTIONAL: Plunge the cut fries into a bowl of cold water and let them sit in it for at least 30 min. Soaking will get rid of excess starch and result in crispier fries. Rinse the potatoes after soaking and blot them dry (that’s important!) with a paper kitchen towel.
  3. Place about ½ tsp of coarse sea salt and 2 tsp of dried rosemary in a pestle and mortar and grind them together into rosemary salt.
  4. Place dry potato fries in a bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoons of oil and use your hands to coat. Season with a pinch or two of rosemary salt you prepared earlier.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 220° C / 425° F and line a baking tray with a piece of baking paper.
  6. Place potato fries on the baking tray in a single layer and make sure fries do not touch each other as otherwise they will end up soggy. The more space they have around them the crispier they will turn out.
  7. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. 20 minutes in, gently turn the fries to the other side. If you have some small fries in between larger ones, they will be done sooner so you may want to take them out a bit earlier. Sprinkle with more rosemary salt if needed and some chilli flakes (if using).
  8. Serve hot with a side of roasted garlic dip and / or ketchup.

ROASTED GARLIC DIP

  1. Set a small pan on a medium heat and place 3 garlic cloves (skins on) on the hot frying pan. Roast them (it takes about 10 minutes) until they get lightly charred on the outside and soft on the inside. Turn them to the other side regularly so that they don’t burn. Alternatively, you could also place them in the oven with your fries and remove after about 10 minutes. Peel after roasting and discard the skins.
  2. Rinse cashews, chop them roughly (you can skip chopping if you have a powerful blender) and place them in an upright blender with roasted garlic cloves, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and enough water to enable the blender to process the cashews into a thick dip. Add water gradually and be sure to scrape the walls of the blender and the lid with a spatula from time to time to return the stray mixture back to the blender.
  3. Season with salt, pepper and more lemon juice to taste.

NOTES
*POTATO variety is important, in the UK the best variety for this purpose is Maris Piper and in the US, it’s Russet. You want starchy potato type that it’s best for baking and frying, not all purpose and certainly not the waxy variety.

*SOAKING: whilst soaking the potatoes renders superior results when frying them in oil, I am not 100% certain it is worth it for baking. I have compared the two preparation methods side by side and the difference is minimal.

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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
329
16%
sugars
3 g
3%
fats
16 g
23%
saturates
3 g
15%
proteins
9 g
17%
carbs
42 g
16%
*per serving
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5.0
6 reviews, 14 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Kimberly:
Aloha, I am very happy to fid your website. I have allergies and health issues and I have been looking for healthier ways to make recipes. I am also handicapped so I have only Amazon to order. for vegan mayo store bought is avocado mayo ok? can I use fresh rosemary for rosemary garlic fries. I will try try a lot of your recipes and email you for questions. where do I buy beetroot to pickle homemade pickled ginger?
Mahalo (Thank You)
Kimberly
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Kimberly,
    I'm pleased to hear that you like the look of my recipes and I hope that the taste will be to your liking too. Yes, sure, avocado mayo is perfect. I haven't tried using fresh rosemary in this context but it should be fine, yes. I buy fresh beetroot at my local supermarket. I hope you'll enjoy these and if you have questions and want a faster reply, Instagram is probably your best bet as I am not at my computer all the time. Ania
Gary Waller:
I made the potatoes last night, and soaked the cashews, so I could make the sauce this morning. They are still tasty left over from the night before. A painfully slow way to make fried potatoes, but very good! Deep frying would be easier. The baking seems necessary to make the spices blend? I also added some powdered garlic to the potatoes. The dipping sauce is worth making as well. When you soak cashews all night, the juice is a very tasty nut milk. I'll definitely be making this again. Thank you!
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Gary, glad you enjoyed the end result! :) Ania
Boyan Minchev:
Who don't like crispy rosemary fries, I know that I can't resist, especially with one beer, this is amazing combination :) Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe, you make my day.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Aw, thanks for kind words, Boyan! You're very welcome :) Ania
Lexi:
Hi, I tried to make the graphic dip, but all it tasted of was lemon. Why?
The chips were good though
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lexi,
    I must say I'm not sure. To me this dip has a decisive garlic flavour rather than lemon. I'm assume you did put garlic in? :)
    Ania
Nina:
Greetings from the UK, do you have any idea how much water to use for the garlic dip. How much do you start with. I have a Vitamix blender. Thank you.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Nina! The amount of water really depends on the blender you have and since I have an old, rickety Kenwood and you have a powerful Vitamix, it will be different in each case. I would start off with about 2 tbsp and see how you get on. If the mixture is getting stuck, trickle a small amount of water as the blender is working - just enough to obtain dip-like texture. Good luck, hope you'll like it! Ania
Jessica:
All you have to say is garlic and I'm hooked. This looks so amazing. Can't wait to try it later.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Ha ha, yes, I'm the same - garlic is very much my thing too! Great minds ;)
Sarah | Well and Full:
These fries look right up my alley, Ania! I love all things potato, and fries are especially my weakness. You got them so perfectly crispy, too - I'll have to try your method!! :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Sarah! I know exactly what you mean, they are my weakness too, I could easily demolish the whole tray at one sitting :) Yes, soaking really does help with getting them nice'n'crispy, do try! x
Wendy Goldstein:
Hi Ania,
I LOVE fries, but my husband doesn't eat any starches as part of the diet he is on. It works for him as he has lost a lot of weight. He will how ever eat sweet potatoes once in awhile, so I was thinking of making these with sweet potatoes instead of regular ones. Have you tried that?
Let me know.
Wendy
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Wendy,
    Sweet potatoes are harder to get as crispy as they have higher water content, however, there is a trick or two that will help - please see THIS RECIPE. The key is not to overcrowd the tray, they need plenty of space around them to ensure the oven doesn't get overly humid and the fries can crisp up. Hope you'll both be happy with the result! :) Ania
Ronit:
Looks great! Like all your recipes. Great blog! love very much to visit here :-)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks so much, Ronit. You should visit, it's a beautiful place for holidays! x
Daniela:
OMG, see? this is the reason no one believes I am vegan, I didn't lose a pound...with great food like this, who can? :)))
Hello Lupo, you curious little rascal, glad to see you 're looking so well!
Thank you Ania, for bringing joy to the plate,
Love from Bucharest
    Ania
    Ania:
    Ha ha, thanks so much, Daniela! Your comment has really made my day, which is great as I'm a bit under the weather today. Lupo is a rascal, you're right. She pokes (or tries to) her little nose into everything :) xx
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