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1
Cut and Soak the Potatoes
35 Mins • Mostly Soaking
Cold water, about 10°C (50°F)
Peel the potatoes, cut them into batons about 1 cm thick and 7–8 cm long, and drop them straight into a large bowl of cold water. Leave them to soak for 30 minutes, then drain and dry in a clean tea towel until every surface is dry.
Cutting them all the same size matters more than cutting them fast.
Done when: Batons are even, starch-free, and completely dry to the touch.
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2
First Fry — Cook Them Through
8 Mins • Hands On
Oil at 150°C (300°F)
Heat the oil to 150°C (300°F) — a cube of bread should take about 40 seconds to turn pale gold. Fry the potatoes in small batches for 6–8 minutes until they are soft and pale, with no colour at all. Lift out, drain, and spread on a rack to cool for at least 10 minutes.
If the oil is too hot they colour before the inside cooks; too cool and they soak up oil.
Done when: Fries are soft all the way through, pale blonde, and limp — not crisp yet.
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3
Second Fry — Make Them Crisp
6 Mins • Hands On
Oil at 180°C (355°F)
Raise the oil to 180°C (355°F) and fry the cooled potatoes again in small batches for 2–3 minutes until deep golden and crackling. Lift out, drain for a few seconds, and salt immediately while the oil is still wet on the surface — the salt sticks only then.
Fry in small batches or the oil temperature crashes and the fries go soggy.
Done when: Fries are deep golden, rigid, and audibly crisp when shaken.
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4
Make the Andalouse Sauce
5 Mins • Hands On
No heat
While the fries rest between fries, whisk the mayonnaise with the tomato paste, finely chopped onion, crushed garlic, lemon juice and paprika until smooth and pale orange. Taste and add a pinch of salt or another squeeze of lemon — it should be tangy, lightly sweet and just warm with paprika.
Chill the sauce while the fries cook so it is cool against the hot fries.
Done when: Sauce is smooth, pale orange, and tastes tangy with a gentle paprika warmth.
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5
Serve in Cones
2 Mins • Hands On
Serve immediately, about 70°C (158°F)
Tip the hot fries into paper cones or a wide bowl, spoon the andalouse sauce generously over the top, and serve at once with small forks. Fries wait for no one — two minutes on the plate and the crisp is gone.
Do not cover the fries or stack them deep; trapped steam softens them in seconds.
Done when: Fries are still crackling, salted, and sauced, with the sauce cool against the hot potato.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Salt the fries the moment they leave the second fry, tip them into paper cones while they are still crackling, and spoon the andalouse sauce over the top.
Belgium
1h
