{recipe} Oven-Baked Sesame Ginger French Fries (Plus 5 Tips for Making Great Fries in the Oven)

Do you ever look around your kitchen and think “what the heck am I going to feed this kid/myself?” That happens a lot around here; somehow, despite the overwhelming feeling that I’m wasting like a third of my life at the grocery store, there is no desirable food anywhere to be found, no matter how many times I open and close the fridge. On those nights that we happen to have a potato, I find that a batch of oven-baked fries is a good option because a) I know my son will eat them, b) I know I will also enjoy eating the rest of them, and c) I can feel OK about it since they are quasi-healthy as they are made from a potato. Which is totally a plant. Go ahead, sign me up for the “mother of the year” award.

The thing is, I’ve gotten a little bored with the same old, same old, so tonight I was inspired to change things up and roast them with sesame oil, plus a hint of ginger and garlic, then toss them with toasted black sesame seeds when they were hot from the oven. Sesame seeds have a ton of health benefits, too, according to some random websites that came up on the first page of searching. That award is looking even better now, huh?

Also, do you know what sesame seeds look like in their little pods? Adorable, that’s what.

Five helpful tips about making fries at home:

• For french fries, I highly recommend using russet potatoes. McDonalds sells three billion POUNDS of fries every year and that’s what they use, so I’m gonna go ahead and trust them on this.
• Don’t stress about cutting the fries into perfect fry shapes. You are doomed from the start as you are cutting an oval-shaped thing into square-shaped things. That is a lose-lose situation. Just do your best.
• A corollary to the cutting thing: The important thing about the cutting is to make things roughly the same size and shape so they will cook at roughly the same rate. Focus on that.
• Make sure the oven is fully heated before putting the fries in.
• For perfect, even browning, flip the fries over mid-cooking. For imperfect, but still delicious, easier fries, don’t.

Obviously you can double, triple, quadruple, etc. this recipe, because the only person who eats like one potato’s worth of fries is a little kid + their mom gaffling some on the side. So just multiply as needed.

Recipe: Oven-Baked Sesame Ginger French Fries
Does not make enough unless you are all by yourself. Use this as a guide to multiply as needed.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium russet potato
• 1 Tblsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp powdered ginger
• 1/4 tsp granulated garlic
• 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds (I used black for attractiveness but white are fine too)
• salt to taste

METHOD:

• Prepare a bowl with cold water and a large pinch of salt. 
• Peel potato and cut into french fry shapes. Put potatoes into water. 
• Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper and set aside.
• When oven is hot, drain potatoes. Add sesame oil, ginger, garlic and a large pinch of salt to the potatoes and toss together to coat. Lay out on sheet pan in a single layer, ideally with the fries not touching each other.
• Bake at 450 for about 20-30 minutes, until crispy and browned.
• Remove from oven and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Toss with sesame seeds and add more salt if needed. Serve immediately.

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