Chili-Garlic Oven Fries with Homemade Ketchup

This week, I had a desire to take on foods that I often eat at restaurants or buy pre-made. What better place to start than fries?

Oven fries are somewhere in between French fries and roasted potatoes. They're not as crispy as the deep-fried classic, but they're easier and less messy to make. I don't know if they're healthier (there's still a lot of olive oil goodness involved in these homemade fries). Anything baked fries lack in crunch, they make up for in flavor. In this recipe, the potato wedges are coated in a chili powder and garlic emulsion, which creates a crisp and eye-catching outer layer when roasting in the oven at a high temperature.

But Lauren! You may be thinking. The pantry doesn't contain ketchup. What ever will we do?!? (You're probably not thinking that. You know I would never leave you high and dry and ketchup-less).

Homemade ketchup takes about five minutes to make, and you can customize it based on your desired level of sweetness, tang, and heat. All you need is tomato paste + apple cider vinegar + maple syrup + flavor. Whisk it up and you're done. Make these chili-garlic oven fries with homemade ketchup instead of getting fast food this week, and report back :)

This recipe is adapted from https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/baked-chili-garlic-fries-4608993 .

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Chili-Garlic Oven Fries with Homemade Ketchup Recipe

These flavorful baked fries are easy to make and easy to love.

Makes: 4 servings

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

For the Fries


• 4 large russet potatoes (or 5-6 medium)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced (about 6 cloves)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

For the Ketchup


• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced (about 2 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• Dash of hot sauce plus more to taste

Instructions:

For the Fries


1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the potatoes into thick wedges. A large potato will yield about six wedges.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, chili powder, mustard, salt, and pepper.
4. Add the potatoes to the oil mixture and stir to coat evenly.
5. Spread the potatoes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. You made need two baking sheets or to work in batches if your sheet is not very large.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp. Sprinkle with salt if desired.

For the Ketchup


7. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.

Notes and Nutrition Information

• Oven fries are crispiest served fresh, but will keep in the refrigerator up to three days.

• Homemade ketchup will keep—stored properly in an airtight container—up to one week in the refrigerator. Increase refrigerator-stability time to three weeks by using one teaspoon of garlic powder in place of fresh garlic. This recipe does not make much extra ketchup, so if you intend to continue to use homemade ketchup, double the recipe.

• If you find this ketchup recipe too bright or acid-forward, add it to a small saucepan with about three-four tablespoons of water, stir, and simmer over medium-low heat until it thickens to a ketchup-like consistency. The heat will mellow the flavor out.

• To get that store-bought, extra-glossy finish on your ketchup, run it through a high-powered blender or small food processor with two extra teaspoons of maple syrup and a tiny splash of water if necessary to get it going.

• One fourth of the recipe as written contains approximately 562 calories, 27 grams of fat, 77 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of protein, 12 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar, and 667 milligrams of sodium.