Belgian fries (frites Belges)

Belgium is to fries what England is to fried fish. Dunked in mayonnaise, these potato bites are always a treat. It's useful to use an electric deep fryer with a thermometer so the temperature is regulated, but if you don’t have one a deep saucepan will be fine.

• serves

  2

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 large potatoes (try Sebago, Coliban, Golden Delight or Kennebec)
• 2 litres vegetable oil
• sea salt, to taste
• 60 g (¼ cup) quality mayonnaise

Instructions

Peel the potatoes and trim them a little to obtain rectangles with almost straight edges. Cut the rectangles into long 1 cm-thick slices, then into 1 cm sticks.  Pat dry on a tea towel.

Preheat the oil in a deep fryer or large deep saucepan to 150ºC.

Very carefully drop the dried chips in the hot oil and cook for 5 minutes. When done, they should be still pale in colour. Remove with a slotted spoon or wire basket and set aside.

Increase the temperature of the oil to 190ºC. Gently drop the potatoes back into the oil and cook for 4 minutes or until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately with mayonnaise on the side. 

Photography by Benito Martin. Styling by Jerrie-Joy Redman-Lloyd. Food preparation by Alice Storey. Creative concept by Lou Fay. 

Taste le Tour starts Saturday 6 July 2019 on SBS ONE and finishes 28 July 2019. Visit the Taste le Tour website to catch-up on episodes online, scroll through recipes or find out more about the show. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.