Chef John's Cottage Fries Recipe

Ingredients

4 baking (russet) potatoes, sliced into 3/8-inch thick rounds
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 pinch herbes de provence, or to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

2. Combine potatoes, salt, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and Herbes de Provence in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes and stir to evenly coat.

3. Place potatoes on baking sheet, spaced evenly, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, flip over each potato slice, and return to the oven for another 15 minutes. Continue cooking and flipping until potatoes are well browned, about 30 minutes. Potatoes should be crispy around edges, but still soft in the center.

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REVIEWS

Hubby gave these 5 stars. He is the potato lover in the family. Nice and crunchy. Mine took just over 45 minutes total - turning every 15 minutes. Enjoy!

YUM! Love how crispy brown these came out and how you can season them any way you want...I used salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and Italian seasoning. These took no time to get together and they smelled delicious while baking. I do wish I would've cut mine a bit thicker, but I'll know for next time. I will def be mkaing these often! Thanks for sharing. :)

Because I was grilling a steak, and because I was feeling somewhat lethargic, I just made these on the grill. I mixed the herbs and pepper with the olive oil for approximately an hour hoping to infuse a little more flavor into the oil before adding in the slices of potato, whether that made any difference - who knows. Also, to give myself a head start, I nuked the potato in the microwave for a few minutes to partially cook it before slicing it. I simply tossed the slices in the olive oil mixture before putting it on a well oiled grill. It made a great side dish with the marinated steak. Good call if I may say so myself.

A delicious little fry and easy to make! I like that these are baked and not fried thus healthier. I baked mine for just shy of 45 min and they turned out good but I think i will leave them in for just a tad longer next time bc I like them really crispy however if you like a more tender fry 45 min seemed about right. 30 min for me was not brown enough but that could be personal taste. these have a hint if spice to them from the cayenne but its subtle however, if you are at all sensitive to spice I would just omit this and they will still be delish. I did use the optiional step shown on the video and place my fries on a rack for the last 10-15 min. i liked the added crispness but it's not a necessary step. This one will me in my regular rotation.

Chef John, these potatoes were so good. You are the bomb. :-) The potatoes I had were huge russets. I had to line two large baking sheets with foil to lay them all out flat. I didn't have the herbs suggested. I did 1/2 tsp. salt, and a 1/4 tsp. of pepper, cayenne pepper, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder. I pretty much followed the seasoning suggestions of Christina. I might just cut back the amount of black and cayenne pepper I used next time. Mine did take the full hour and I cut them about 1/4". I will more likely make these again. They would go great with some fried fish.

Very much like french fries, I added lots of spices on mine, they would have been bland without them. Make sure to not slice too thin. Will make these more often now that I've tried them!

So simple, so easy, and OHHH SOOOO GOOD. The BEST potatoes I have had in a long time. ntire family of picky eaters are eagerly anticipating the next time I make them. You are awesome Chef John!

These are the best little crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside potatoes I've ever eaten. Amazing! My son and I even loved them so much we made them two nights in a row! I can't wait to make these for the rest of my family. I did three 15 minutes sessions and then put them on the rack for another 10 minutes. Wonderful! Thank you Chef John!

Very nice. A bit time consuming to turn each time, but worth it. I love crispy potatoes, and you can just keep baking these and turning them until you get the desired consistency. A tad spicy for me, but that's easily resolved by lessening or changing spices. I must say I've never heard of the name of these, but they are good. Definitely slice a tad thick or you will end up with almost like potato chips if you aren't careful. Thanks for the recipe!

These potatoes were great! They only took 45 minutes to make. Delicious and easy!