Baked Peppery Potato..... Fries?

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Wouldn't  that be a contradiction in itself, I wondered, when I was thinking about the title to this post, if I used both baked and fries together. But after giving it some thought I concluded that no other term I could think of, describes this post better and decided to go with it....:-) Well moving on from the title to the substance of this post, what is it about fries that makes it so likable I wonder, is it the potato part, the fried part, or a combination of both. I haven't been able to figure it out as yet, but suffice to say that there is something about potato fries that makes it irresistible to most people. 

Unfortunately this has been one of the first casualties since I began watching my diet and I haven't had fries at any restaurant for a very long time. R who gave these up right along with me, occasionally feels a little pang when he remembers the good old times, when we used to order these without a single thought to stuff like saturated fat and trans fat, calories, etc etc. Last weekend,in one of my rare ventures into using potatoes in my kitchen, I decided to make these fries for R, and I was really glad I did, since I got to enjoy them too :-). R paid these fries the ultimate compliment, he said he could not tell that these were baked and tasted just as good as the fully fried ones. So try this  healthier version of fries as a snack or enjoy them as a side with your veggie burger :-)

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Ingredients and method to make Baked peppery potato fries.

2 large russet / or other baking potato (peeled and cut into even sticks about 1/4 inch wide)

freshly ground black pepper to taste( I used black and red pepper blend from McCormick )

salt to taste (I used freshly ground sea salt )

3 tbsp olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 425 deg F

Line a baking tray with foil or parchment paper and keep aside

In a bowl add olive oil, salt to taste and pepper to taste and mix together.

Add the dried potatoes to the bowl and toss together until each of the potatoes are evenly coated with olive oil mixture.

Place the potatoes on the lined baking tray in a manner that they are not touching each other.

Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes turning them over once in between to ensure even baking.  I baked for about 20 mins but if your potatoes are sliced thinner you may need lesser time.

Remove when potatoes are golden and serve hot with ketchup.