Baked Cajun French Fries

I needed a side dish to go with a pesto-grilled cheese I had a hankering for, and these sounded like they would fit the bill. And they did! I noticed as I was cutting the potatoes, that, dang! This recipe really makes alot! So I had already measured out all of the dry spices in another bowl, but it didn’t look like too much, so I halved the amount of potatoes it calls for (so I used 2 instead of 4), but I kept all of the other ingredients the same. And I think they turned out great! They weren’t so spicy that I couldn’t eat them (I usually don’t like spicy food), but they had enough kick that Toby liked them. I think they were, though, a little too spicy for Liam, so he didn’t get any. I served them with the typical ketchup, but, new great food find, for my grilled cheese sandwiches that I served them with, I made a pesto mayo, and hello! That was great as a dip for the fries! So the grilled cheese I made: sourdough bread, pesto mayo (store-bought pesto mixed with mayo), 2 slices low-fat provolone (I know, why bother at this point), and 1 slice cheddar. I bought an olive-oil cooking spray today (like Pam) and sprayed my George Foreman grill with it, then put the sandwich in, and sprayed the top of the sandwich. They get nice and crusty and have little grill marks on them! I served the grilled cheese and baked cajun french fries with a green salad with a honey-balsamic dressing.

rating: 8

Baked Cajun French Fries
(from the cookbook “Vegan with a Vengeance” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

4 large unpeeled russet potatoes, cleaned and cut lengthwise into 1/4″ strips
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Very lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.
In a mixing bowl toss the potatoes with olive oil to coat. Mix the spices and salt together and toss with the potatoes to coat. It’s ok if the mixture isn’t coating every part of each potato; as long as there is some of the spice on each one, you’re good.
Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet; if they don’t all fit use a second sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Use tongs to flip the potatoes, bake for another 12-15 minutes. The fries should be golden brown, Serve immediately.