Consuming Passions - Worldwide Events Managers

The World’s Best Chips

Serves: 4

Notes

There is no doubt that the world’s best chips – or French fries – are in fact made in Belgium, though the Dutch might dispute this. Chips, Belgian-style, are the first dish I learned to make at the age of 9. And to go with them I made a home-made mayonnaise, which I used to call My Own ‘Naise (See Consuming Passions Book, an ABC Book published by the National Heart Foundation.) Because take-away and restaurant chips are so often disappointing I offer you this recipe for do-it-yourself potato chips which are guaranteed to be superb.

Ingredients

• Large quantity of oil in large pan (look for an oil low in saturated fat)
• 1 kg potatoes

Method

Peel potatoes and cut into strips no wider than a pencil (1 cm). This is important! Wash well in cold water. Drain well and dry by shaking in a tea towel – or similar. Heat oil to about 160C. A chip dropped in it should float to the surface and bubble excitedly. Put in half the drained chip shapes. Cook until chips are soft and flexible – but not browned. Remove chips and drain. Bring oil up to 160C again and par-cook the remaining chips. This procedure may be done anything up to six hours before the chips are needed. Five minutes before serving bring the oil temperature up to 180C. A chip dropped in it should float to the surface more excitedly than before. Quickly cook half the cooled chips until they’re a beautiful golden brown. A couple of minutes is all they should require. Drain well on kitchen paper. Cook remainder and make a start eating the first batch while the second lot are draining.

My mother used to keep a chip pan with vegetable or nut oil which was used several times before being discarded. This practice has been criticised as being unhealthy, however it’s practised by most restaurants and take-away outlets. Most outlets these days advertise using cholesterol free oil. Be aware that the oil used is often palm oil, which is high in saturated fat. By cooking chips yourself you can guarantee the ingredients are the best quality.

Handy tip: Make sure the chips do not overcrowd the oil and that you allow for some frothing of the oil. Take care it does not spill over. If the potatoes are really dry you will minimise the risk of boil over.