Salt & Vinegar Oven Fries

I've had this blog post set to go for ages now, but never got around to posting it because other things kept pressing their way in front. To the point now: fries. Salt & Vinegar fries. I first conceived the idea for these things when I walked into the spice and tea shop on Prince George Street in Williamsburg and saw the bottle of vinegar powder on the shelves. It's no secret to my friends-and-relations that I love salt & vinegar chips. Kettle-cooked are ideal, and for a nice toss-up there's nothing yummier than Utz Kettle-Cooked Maui Barbeque which is basically the love-child of salt & vinegar and a good, high-quality BBQ chip. So when the spice-shop owner told me that people have tossed vinegar powder into their mashed potatoes, it got me thinking. But I didn't want mashed potatoes in August, thanks. Instead, I decided to dedicate my pouch of vinegar powder to salt n' vinegar fries. And though the vinegar is a major component, the real star of this show became my pouch of fleur de sel, also purchased from the shop.  I'm a sea-salt girl and this French gray sea salt is the most flavorful, amazing thing I think you'll ever put on fries. Completely delicious. As an aside, searching "uses for vinegar powder" on Google comes up with surprisingly few results. Internet world, today I bring you an answer: salt and vinegar fries. I hope you become as addicted as I am.

Salt & Vinegar Oven Fries:

for two

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into matchsticks

1/2 cup good quality olive oil, separated

1 teaspoon fleur de sel or sea-salt of your choice

1 Tablespoon vinegar powder (can be purchased online or in specialty stores)

1. Start by prepping your trays with a generous drizzle of the olive oil. Sprinkle trays with a little of the salt to keep the potatoes from sticking. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. In a small bowl, combine remaining salt and vinegar

3. In a large bowl, toss potato matchsticks with remaining olive oil. Spread out on trays, careful to keep each slice well apart from the others. If they cook to close-together, they will steam instead of crisp and come out floppy and pale.

4. Dust potatoes generously with 2/3 of the salt and vinegar powder mixture and place trays in oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip with the grain and bake another ten minutes, until a dark, golden-brown. I like my fries darker than lighter, but if you have a preference for lighter fries, take them out a few minutes early.

5. Shake remaining salt and vinegar mixture over cooked fries and serve hot with malt vinegar.

 Have a lovely, lovely day and let me know if you give the fries a go! These will definitely go in my "frequently used" repertoire, never to be removed. Because really, what's better for the very end of summer than a french-fry with pizazz? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.