We have veggies burgers (store-bought or home-made) with fries almost once per week. Whether it’s a busy weeknight or dinner on a Saturday afternoon after a late hockey practice some variation of a sandwich on a bun is in my weekly rotation. Fries usually come with that. Maybe you expected salad from me? We eat so much salad, I eat so much salad, I don’t make salad mandatory with burgers.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with the fries. I don’t like the idea of buying fries in a bag in the freezer section. Generally I don’t like buying anything other than frozen fruit and plain vegetables from the freezer section. But I have always bought french fries because I believed it was easier somehow. But I’ve come to realize it’s not. They are pretty simple to make yourself.
Thick cut fries in a very hot oven work best. So I tend to cut mine in wedges. Thinly cut fries will burn to black as soon as you turn your back on them. Sometimes I get distracted in the kitchen, okay maybe often I’m distracted. I’ve learned that lesson, I need something that can take care of itself in a hot oven for a bit. Fat fries will be okay if left an extra minute or two.
I like these small thin-ish potatoes I found at our local supermarket. Like oversized fingerlings. They are sweet and buttery, much like a Yukon gold but not so fat. Because of their shape cutting them into quarters lengthways makes four perfect oven fries. From tip to tip they are about 3-4 inches long. Some of the larger ones need to be cut into six wedges.
Leave the peel on. Not only is it less time-consuming this way, I find the peel side is less likely to stick to the baking sheet. So I go through the trouble of lining all of them up with the skin side touching the baking tray. Cut into wedges and lined up with their points in the air, it looks like I’m baking a miniature armada of little potato sail boats or something. It really does help though, no crispy pieces stuck to the baking tray. It’s so sad when that happens.
A word about this sauce. My kids loved it. Yes – on their burgers and on the fries. For a couple of kids that refuse mustard of any kind this was a nice surprise. For the hot sauce I used Franks – more tang than heat – so keep that in mind when you are mixing this up.
Roasted Potatoes
Ingredients
- 1 pound of potatoes
- 2 tablespoons grape-seed oil
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper
for the Dijon Dipping sauce
- 1/4 cup Vegenaise or other mayo
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 5-8 dashes of hot sauce I used Frank's
- black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450. Brush or lightly spray a baking tray with oil.
- Slice potatoes into wedges - about 1/2-3/4 inch thick at skin side and toss into a large bowl.
- Add the oil, paprika, salt and pepper and toss well to coat each potato wedge. Don't be shy, make sure they are all well coated. Spread evenly on the prepared baking tray, arranging each potato skin side down.
- Bake at 450 for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and blistered. Potatoes should be soft when pieced with a fork.
for the Dijon Dipping sauce
- Mix Vegenaise, dijon and hot sauce together in a small bowl. Add freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
Thank’s for visiting. I’m Trish. I share healthy family recipes to inspire your family to eat their veggies and save room for cake!
