Spicy Fries

Sunday is my day to do chores. My weekly deep-clean took most of my afternoon.

I was out of town for a bit last weekend and will be gone this weekend, so it was like doing three weeks of cleaning. Fun times, I tell you.

A lot of my time was spent scrubbing blackberry puree stains off my counters. The food processor and I got in an argument last week and I lost. The last thing I wanted to do at dinner was to make another mess in my kitchen.

I threw some hot dogs on the grill for the main dish, but I wanted something a little more interesting on the side.

I ended up with oven fries, but with a twist. These are riff off the Chili-Rubbed Fries and very similar to my favorite Spicy Hash Browns. I baked them according to the method in How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Spicy Fries
Serves 4.

2 ½ pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into fries
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400°. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl toss together the potatoes, oil, spices and salt. Arrange the fries on the baking sheet in a single layer.

Bake for 20 minutes without touching. After 20 minutes, flip over the fries and bake another 10-30 minutes, until crispy.

The cooking time will depend on how “thick” you cut the fries. I check them after 10, but mine usually go 15-20 minutes after I flip them.