Nigella Lawson's Easy Hack For Crispy At-Home French Fries
Nigella Lawson is a classic overachiever. She graduated with honors from Oxford (via Oxford University) and began her career as a book reviewer and restaurant critic. She's held several positions in journalism, working as an editor and freelance journalist.In 1998, her first cookbook, "How to Eat," brought her to International fame. This was closely followed by "How to Be a Domestic Goddess" in 2000, and from there, the rest, as they say, is history (via British Heritage).
Considered by many the queen of home cooks, Lawson is now recognized around the world as a leading authority on food. As evidenced by her millions of social media followers (via Instagram), Lawson is also considered a go-to source for finding delicious recipes that anyone can create in their own kitchens.
Simplicity being her hallmark, Lawson is a hero to many busy cooks who love fine foods without the need to spend hours in the kitchen. Her kitchen hacks have almost reached legendary status, and her chip (french-fry) recipe only reinforces this reputation.
Easy fries without fear
Nigella Lawson first shared this tip back in 2020 in an Instagram post that garnered almost 50,000 likes. In that post, Lawson states, "My cooking method is unorthodox but effective: deep-frying without so much of the stress." On her website, she called it revolutionary and even admitted she was surprised she didn't end up with a greasy mess.
The jist of this cooking method is that you put your cut potatoes into the oil while it is still cold and then bring the oil up to a boil over a high flame. Already, we can see this as a great advantage. There are few, if any, cooks who haven't known the joy of hot oil splattering everywhere, including their hands, when dropping foods into them. Starting with cold oil completely eliminates this point of danger.
One key point she offers in her instructions is to refrain from stirring the potatoes for 15 minutes after they begin to fry and to keep an eye on the temperature of your oil. Ideally, you should fry your potatoes between 300 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. After the first 15 minutes of cooking, you can gently stir your potatoes occasionally and cook them to a golden brown. Another point that Lawson stresses is to drain your french fries well before moving them to a serving dish.
When someone with Lawson's reputation gives us a tip, we are inclined to trust them. We can't wait to try this homemade french-fry hack out for ourselves.
More potato hacks
It's no secret that spuds are a staple of many diets. After all, according to the International Potato Center, over 300 million metric tons of the starchy vegetables are eaten each year. With so many potatoes being eaten, it shouldn't come as a great surprise that people have developed quite a few hacks to make the resulting dishes grander.
One of our favorites is a trick that makes French fries almost guaranteed to come out crispy every time. All you have to do is blanch your spuds before you fry them. After cutting your potatoes into uniform pieces, place them in a saucepan full of cold water, bring them to a boil, and cook them for five minutes. Then drain and allow them to cool and dry (via KitchenSeer).
Another great idea we came across via a YouTube Video is a way to eliminate kitchen waste. Instead of throwing away your leftover potato skins. Throw them in the oven, seasoned to your taste, and make potato skin chips. According to the video, the secret is to brush them with oil before broiling.
One last hack is a way to cook a baked potato in less than 10 minutes. Just wash the potato, poke it full of holes with a fork, then wrap it with a wet paper towel. Next, microwave the potato for five to six minutes (via TikTok).