Fingerling Potato Fries

Here’s a quick and clever way to make potato fries without a lot of peeling and cutting. Fingerling potatoes, if you are not familiar with them, are small potatoes with a long, narrow shape—hence their name. They come in several varieties; I like to use organic golden fingerlings like Russian Banana. These are ready, from start to finish, in about 20 minutes. Recipe adapted from Vegan Express by Nava Atlas.

Serves: 4 to 6

• 1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes
• 2 tablespoons safflower or other high heat oil
• Salt to taste
• Paprika to taste (see note)

Scrub the potatoes well. No need to peel them, but do peel away any overly dark or knobby spots, of which there should be few. Cut each potato in half lengthwise, which results in a short, chunky fry shape.

Place the cut potatoes in a nonstick skillet with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer steadily for 5 to 8  minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the potatoes can be pierced with a knife but are still quite firm. Drain any excess water from the skillet.

Set the skillet back on the heat and drizzle in the olive oil. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook the potatoes, stirring frequently, until touched with golden brown on most sides, about 5 to 8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and season with salt and paprika.

Note: If you’d like a more exotic effect, try Spanish paprika, which has a smoky and more intense flavor than Hungarian sweet paprika.

•  Here are more easy, tasty potato recipes.