In yesterday’s post I mentioned visiting Pomme Frites, a small restaurant specializing in Belgian french fries and dipping sauces, on our way back from visiting the Statue of Liberty. The kids enjoyed them, so I thought I’d try to make a home version.
The original pomme frites are deep fried twice–the first time to cook the potatoes through, and the second time for extra crunchiness. I don’t even want to think about how much oil they absorb being fried twice, and I rarely deep fry anything because I don’t like the big mess to clean up at the end, not to mention smelling up the whole house. So I attempted a lighter, baked version. 
I used russet potatoes that are around 8 oz. each. Cut them into 1/4″ fries.
There are all kinds of interesting information you can find on the internet about how to make the best french fries like here and here, that involve soaking the raw potatoes in water or a dilute acid solution before doing the twice cooked method. I found the article on the McDonald’s french fry attempt particularly amusing.
I tried water soaked, diluted vinegar water soaked, and no soaked batches, and found I liked the no soaked batch the best. Great– that’s the easiest one! I think soaking and precooking the potatoes are probably more important if you are planning to deep fry the potatoes. 
Place them on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with a few tablespoons of oil. Mix them up until they are all well coated, then arrange them flat in a single layer.
I also chopped up some fresh rosemary and thyme and mixed that in, just because I love the aroma and flavors. 
Bake them in a preheated 450 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, turning them over midway, until they are golden and crispy.
This was much simpler than I expected.
Sprinkle very lightly with sea salt. Use less than you think, then taste it before adding more, because it’s so easy to oversalt. 
We liked the curry ketchup and mayo dip.
Ranch, pesto, barbeque sauce, aioli… pomme frites seem to go well with so many sauces.
You can take a look at the Pomme Frites menu for some other ideas. 
I found this bottle of premade Curry Ketchup from Germany at World Market for a pricey $4.99. I discovered curry ketchup is popular in Germany, where currywurst with pomme frites is common street food.
I thought the German Curry Ketchup tasted pretty good, but my family actually preferred my homemade version. I merely warmed a little ketchup with curry powder, allspice, coriander and onion powder and let it bubble for a minute. Cheaper and better–what more could you ask for?
I can tell these pomme frites will be requested frequently by a certain few kids, now that they know I can make them.
That’s ok, it’ll be a nice little reminder of New York and our visit to the Statue of Liberty.
- 2 lbs. russet potatoes, washed
- 4 T. oil
- 1-2 T. chopped fresh rosemary or thyme (optional)
- Sea salt to taste
- Reduced fat mayonnaise
- Curry Ketchup:
- ½ c. ketchup
- 1 tsp. water
- 1 tsp. curry powder
- Dash of each--allspice, coriander and onion powder
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice each potato into ¼" french fries.
- Spray a large metal baking sheet with non stick spray. Put french fries onto the baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, and sprinkle the herbs. Mix together until all the fries are coated with the oil and herbs. Arrange them in a single layer. Bake for 25 minutes, then flip fries over. Bake another 20-30 minutes or until they are browned and crispy. Sprinkle very lightly with sea salt if desired.
- While the fries are baking, place all the curry ketchup ingredients into a small saucepan. Heat on medium high, stirring frequently to incorporate the spices. Once it bubbles, stir for another minute, then remove from heat and let cool.
- Serve pomme frites with a dipping dish of curry ketchup with mayo on the side.
