Impossible to resist crispy country fried potatoes, horiatikes patates tiganites are oven-baked and finish cooking in the fryer. It is possible they will be your most requested side dish.
Serve these delicious crispy fries with keftedes, seafood, tomato salad, and roasted feta.
This is an easy recipe with few ingredients.
It is true that there are few foods that give such pleasure as crispy delicious fries that have just come out of the fryer.
Why this recipe sings
Greeks eat a lot of fried potatoes. We call them patates tiganites. There is no taverna order without a couple of plates of crispy fries. At home they are mostly homemade, very rarely they will be coming out of a freezer bag.
This country fried potatoes recipe is simple yet produces very flavorful and crispy results. The potatoes are oven-baked whole for an hour and a half in a 350°F oven. After baking, they are cut into irregular pieces and get crispy for a couple of minutes in a hot frier.
Served with just coarse sea salt, and some fresh oregano leaves, they are delicious and literally disappear from the table in record time.
Here is what you need
Potatoes. I use Yukon gold or russet potatoes. Yukon golds have thin skin that crisps up nicely. Russets have thicker skin that develops crunchy lovely edges.
Sunflower oil or light olive oil. I always use light olive oil or sunflower oil for deep frying.
Fresh oregano leaves. Other herbs like chopped rosemary leaves, thyme leaves or chopped sage will work just as well. If no fresh herbs are available, don’t sweat it, the dry oregano is enough.
Coarse sea salt. The potatoes get seasoned immediately after frying with coarse sea salt.
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
How to make these fries
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Scrub the potatoes clean. Dry them well and place them in an oven-proof pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
What to serve with these fries
- My favorite pairing for fries is feta cheese. Patates tiganites with feta are a match made in heaven. In the same awesome category is pairing with a whipped spicy feta dip called tirokafteri. Another great sauce to serve them with is tzatziki dip. And finally mayonnaise is awesome with country fries.
- Greeks eat fried potatoes with souvlaki. In the summer after the beach, a plate of fresh crispy potato fries next to a cool greek tomato salad is often the best lunch one can have.
- Have you tried fries served with a stew? Smothering these country fries in a decadent red wine beef stew sauce is a must. This beef stew with eggplant is also ideal for wild fry dipping.
Check out my Greek pantry staples
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Crispy Country Fried Potatoes
Equipment
- baking pan
- deep frier or a deep stockpot
Ingredients
- 5 potatoes Yukon gold or russet, medium
- 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
- sunflower oil for frying
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Scrub the potatoes clean. Dry them well and place them in an oven-proof pan—Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Let the potatoes cool for 20 minutes so they are easy to handle, and then tear them with your hands into chunky pieces.
- Place a kitchen towel or paper towel on a large plate and transfer the potatoes. Refrigerate until they are completely cooled.
- Fill your deep fryer with sunflower oil and place in high heat. When oil is hot add a batch of the potato chunks and fry for a couple of minutes or until they are golden brown and the edges are crispy.
- Drain potatoes from the oil by using the fryer wire basket or a slotted spoon. Place potatoes on paper towels to absorb more oil. Season fries immediately when they are hot with coarse sea salt.
- Sprinkle some fresh oregano leaves or dried oregano and serve.
Notes
- While frying the potatoes, stir just a couple of times, so they do not stick together and develop nice crispy edges.
- I use my dutch oven as a deep-fryer for fries, it gets the oil very hot, and the fries come out crispy.