Baked Fries With Spicy Ras El Hanout Recipe | The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures

RECIPE: Baked Fries With Ras El Hanout

November 12, 2020 at 10:33 am · Filed under Recipes, Salts-Seasonings-Herbs-Spices, The Nibble, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

[1] Moroccan-spiced baked fries (photos #1 and #4 © Idaho Potato Commission)

[2] Ras el hanout, the famed Moroccan spice blend (photo © Silk Road Spices).

[3] The ras el hanout spices are blended, then ground. This mix includes allspice, black peppercorns, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, hibiscus, lavender, mustard seed and star anise. (photo © Spice & Tea).

[4] The types of Idaho potatoes. Idaho russets are on the bottom row.

[5] Broiled Salmon with Ras El Hanout Spiced Butter. Here’s the recipe (photo © The Kitchn).

[5] How about some grilled Moroccan Chicken? Here’s the recipe (photo © Feasting At Home).

For Cook Something Bold & Pungent Day (November 9th), we made these oven-baked fries flavored with the Moroccan spice blend, ras el hanout (photo #1, recipe below).

While ras el hanout is piquant rather than pungent (here’s the difference), it fit the bill—especially since the spice blend was augmented with garlic, paprika and cilantro.

WHAT IS RAS EL HANOUT

As just mentioned, ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice blend; it is also used in Algeria and Tunisia.

The name translates as “top of the shop,” i.e., the best.

There is no one recipe for ras el hanout: Every spice merchant has a proprietary recipe, and the cooks who buy the spices debate who has the best version.

The mixture often includes 30 or more of a spice merchant’s best ingredients: whole spices, dried roots and leaves, ground together.

Some of the ingredients can be local to the area: ash berries, chufa, cubeb berries, galangal, grains of paradise, long pepper, orris root, monk’s pepper and rose petals.

More familiar ingredients (in the U.S.) can include anise, cardamom, cayenne and other chiles, cinnamon, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, ginger, lavender, nutmeg, mace, pepper, saffron, sweet and hot paprika, and turmeric.

The complex blend delivers many subtle undercurrents of floral, peppery and sweet.

HOW TO USE RAS EL HANOUT

Traditional uses include as a dry rub or marinade for grilled meats, in starches (couscous, potatoes, rice) and traditional Moroccan dishes like b’stilla and tagines.

You’ll find many uses for it. As with all blends, a bonus benefit is that you don’t have to measure out multiple seasonings.

We use ras el hanout on many things:

Compound butter

Cooked cauliflower and other vegetables

Dips

Greek yogurt to eat straight from the carton or as a sauce

Lamb and pork

Rice and other grains to dips and flavoring to grains

Pasta and pizza

BUY IT OR MAKE IT

If you don’t want to buy a jar, here’s a recipe from food writer Marc Bittman:

Toast and grind 4 teaspoons each coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Combine with 2 teaspoons each ground cinnamon, ginger, paprika, turmeric and salt; add 2 tablespoons ground pepper.

For a hotter blend, add cayenne, crushed red pepper flakes or whatever dried chiles you have on hand.

We suggest dry-frying the spices in a hot pan for a few minutes, to release the full flavor before grinding.

It’s a stripped-down version, but feel free to add what you like—you have 22 more slots available!

Thanks to the Idaho Potato Commission for this recipe. If you love potatoes, check out the myriad of creative potato recipes on their website.

RECIPE: BAKED FRENCH FRIES WITH RAS EL HANOUT SEASONING

This recipe was developed by Tina Dawson of Love Is In My Tummy for the Idaho Potato Commission.

Ingredients

2 large Russet Idaho® potatoes

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ras-el-hanout spice blend

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

1 teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

2 cloves of garlic, grated

3 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Garnish: 2-3 sprigs fresh cilantro, chopped

Condiments: ketchup, dip or other condiment of choice

Preparation

1. PEEL and slice each potato vertically in half. Take one half, then slice it vertically in half again to reduce the thickness. Flip it on the flat side, and slice again into 4 fry-shaped pieces. Repeat with all the potatoes.

2. IMMERSE the chopped potatoes in water for 20-30 minutes. This step is essential to removing the starch, making for a crispier fry.

3. RINSE the potatoes until the water runs clear. Drain. Using paper towels or a clean kitchen towel, dab until the excess moisture is removed. Transfer to a clean, dry bowl.

4. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F (220°C). Position the baking rack to the lowest position and another rack to the slot just above it.

5. COMBINE the potatoes with the rest of the ingredients except the cilantro. Toss to coat the spices evenly over the potatoes. Arrange in a single layer on a large baking tray or two medium trays (you may line the tray(s) with foil to make clean-up easier).

6. BAKE for 30 minutes. Halfway during baking, swap the top and bottom trays, and flip the fries. Once the time is up and the fries are crisp…

7. REMOVE from the oven, toss with chopped cilantro and serve immediately with condiment(s) choice.

> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF POTATOES

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