Authentic Greek Olive Oil Fries

These Authentic Greek Olive Oil Fries are nothing like you get at fast food joints. Experience a dish reminiscent of ordering from a beautiful tavern in Greece. Golden and crispy on the outside, soft, and lush on the inside. A quick and perfect additive to enhance your favorite meals. This recipe works beautifully with our Kalamata EVOO!

Ingredients

• 2-3 medium potatoes
• ½ cup Kalamata EVOO or more
• Salt
• Oregano optional
• Feta optional
• Lemon optional

Instructions

• Peel the potatoes and cut in long pieces, don’t try to make them perfectly shaped. Soak them in a bowl of water for at least an hour. Drain and place them in a bowl, salt them and mix them with your hands so that all pieces are covered.
• In a pot or pan that has enough space for the potatoes in one layer, add some olive oil, about an inch high.
• Heat the olive oil on medium heat, once the oil starts making sizzling noises (I measured a temperature of about 330 F) you add the potatoes. Fry the potatoes at this temperature for about 5 minutes. Stir gently a few times so that the potatoes do not stick. After that, lower the heat and continue frying for another 5 minutes and then raise the heat slightly and fry for 2-3 minutes more until you have a golden color.
• Place a plate with paper towels and remove the fries with a slotted spoon and place them on the napkins. Place another napkin on top to absorb any oil.
• Serve on a plate, and sprinkle dry oregano and a bit of salt if needed.
• You may accompany with feta cheese and lemon.

Tips

1. Make sure you soak the potatoes in water for at least an hour. It removes some of the starch and helps them become crunchier.
2. Don’t cut them too thin, otherwise you won’t get the softness inside. And don’t try to make them perfectly shaped, the beauty of patates tiganites is also their uneven shape.
3. Make sure the olive oil is hot enough, otherwise they will absorb a lot of olive oil and become soggy. There are a lot of techniques out there and while I know my yiayia was not measuring the temperature of the oil, here is what I measured. In the beginning, the olive oil was heated to about 330-350 F.
4. Make sure the potatoes are all in one layer and the olive oil used barely covers them, about an inch high.
5. Serve immediately. Nobody likes cold fries.