Ingredients
1/2 cup catsup
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp balsamic vinegar or red
1 white vinegar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
3 large russet potatoes, peeled,
1 wiped dry, cut into
1 generous 1/4-inch-thick
1 sticks
1 canola oil (for deep frying)
Directions
Combine catsup, cumin and vinegar in small bowl. Combine salt and
chili powder in another small bowl. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.
Cover spearately and let stand at room temperature.)
Arrange potatoes in parallel rows on kitchen towel. Roll towel up,
enclosing potatoes, and let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1
hour to dry potatoes.
Pour oil into heavy large saucepan to depth of 3 inches. Attach
deep-fry thermomether and heat oil over medium-high heat to
320-degrees F. add 1/4 of potatoes to oil and fry until just tender
and barely colored, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer
potatoes to wire rack set over paper towels and allow to drain.
Preheat oil to 320-degrees F. if necessary. Repeat frying with
remaining potatoes in 3 more batches. Cool completely. (Can be
prepared up to 3 hours ahead.. Let potatoes stand at room
temperature, let oil cool.)
Reheat oil to 400-degrees F. Fry potaotes in 3 batches until deep
golden brown and beginning to blisher, about 2 minutes. Using slotted
spoon, transfer potatoes to basket lined with several layers of paper
towels. Sprinkle with chili salt and serve with cumin catsup.
SOURCE: BON APPETIT, January 1993
Servings: 2 servings
Classic French Fries With Chili Salt Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chili; French; Vegetable
The History of Recipes
Academics have tracked the existance of recipes far back into distant history, certainly as far as pharonic Egypt, and possibly even further. However, these, old cookbooks were just very simple pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for preparing food.
Interestingly, the oldest recipe in existence, according to historians are a few clay tablets in ancient Sumerian which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. During Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote a collection of documents detailing recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his works, he recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were split into starters, main meal and afters, something that is very familiar to us today. Additionally, he recounts how the Romans were skilled in the use of many spices and herbs, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs such as basil, mint and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we find a couple of cookery books which were published in the 1300s - one book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another called `Curye on Inglish`. Perhaps surprisingly, they are unconnected to the spicy food that appears on menues today, but instead descriptions of the types of meals prepared for the nobility of the period. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought back a variety of foods and spices from Arab cooking, including spices such as coriander, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new foods and spices was responsible for an eruption in cookery books, some of which are kept safe in private collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the powerful and wealthy competed to lay on the most extravagent meals, and as a consequence, chefs and their recipes were greatly in demand. Nevertheless, it was during the 19th century the formal cooking and recipe publications reached a high level of popularity. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, spent years to collating, testing, and publishing recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. By the arrival of the 1900s, cookbooks are highly popular as a result of more people being able to read, increased leisure time and having more money. Like it or not, the introduction of television gave us TV cooks and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Classic French Fries With Chili Salt recipe.
