Herbed Tuscan Fries 
Cesare Casella

  2-4  Servings

8       cups peanut oil, (approximately)
1 1/2   pounds potatoes, medium-large all-purpose or boiling potatoes
4       cloves garlic, unpeeled and lightly crushed
4       sprigs rosemary, fresh, (each 6 to 8 inches log), cut in half
10      sprigs thyme, fresh
4       branches of fresh sage
2       sprigs oregano, fresh
2       teaspoons sea salt
        black pepper, in a pepper mill

Special Equipment:

9- to 10-inch pan for frying, with sides at least 4 inches high
Frying thermometer  (one that covers the range between 200 and 400)
Long cooking fork
Round Skimmer about 5 inches in diameter  

Directions:

  Fill the pan with 1 3/4 inches of peanut oil and place over the
highest heat on your most powerful burner. (Owners of commercial stoves
should reduce the heat by nearly half after the potatoes go in) Immerse
the thermometer in the oil. Wash and peel the potatoes and with a
French-fry cutter or a kitchen knife, cut them into long strips with a
square cross section about 3/8 inch on a side. Do not wash the pieces
but dry them carefully with a cloth and keep them tightly wrapped. 
Get the garlic and herbs ready.  

  When the oil reaches 360F. to 370F., add all the potatoes. Do not
use a frying basket. Be careful not to splash the oil. The oil will
bubble furiously and drop to between 240F. and 270F. before the
temperature rises again. Stir continually with the long fork until the
potatoes are done, in 10 to 12 minutes, adding the herbs and garlic as
follows:  

  About 2 1/2 minutes into the frying, stir in the garlic cloves.  
  Six minutes into the frying, the potatoes should begin to take on a
golden color, and the temperature should reach 280F. to 300F. 
  Stir in the rosemary sprigs.  
  A minute or so later, stir in the thyme, sage, and oregano.  
  Nine minutes into the frying, sprinkle with the salt. (Yes, right into
the potatoes and oil.)
  The potatoes should now be a deep golden color, and the oil
temperature should have climbed to about 320F.   
  A minute later, fish out a piece of potato with tongs or chopsticks,
blot it on a paper tower, wait a few seconds, and take a bite. It should
be crisp, and instead of bending, it should be stiff. The insides should
be creamy, with no hint of a raw taste. You are not likely to need more
than another minute or two of frying before the potatoes attain this
state. If the temperature reaches 360F., lower the heat.

  When the Tuscan fries are nearly ready, grind 6 to 8 turnings of the
pepper mill over them in the oil and stir well. Using the skimmer, lift
the potatoes from the oil (with the herbs and garlic--all of them
delicious).  

  Place the potatoes, herbs, and garlic in a basket or deep dish lined
with paper, blot the top, transfer to a paper-lined plate, and serve
immediately (or keep warm in a 250F. oven while you make another
batch)   

Serves 2 Tuscans, 3 or 4 Americans

  Note: The oil can be used again to make additional batches of
potatoes, but only within a few hours--salt breaks down frying oil.
After the first frying, use only half the herbs and salt (but all the
garlic), because the oil becomes imbued with their flavors. And make
sure the oil remains 1 3/4 inches deep.  

Source: The Man Who Ate Everything; 
Jeffrey Steingarten

Page(s): 405-407


