Να είναι οι μέρες σας γαμάτες, σαν τηγανιτές πατάτες

One little post on my all weather favourite food: homemade fried potatoes with crumbled feta and oregano.

Head straight to the recipe.

I don’t think anyone really needs an introduction to homemade fried potatoes. As Greeks we have a very, very soft spot for them. There is no taverna gathering without a portion of them on the table or two. We even judge how good and homely food is by the standard of their potatoes. Are they hand-cut? Then it’s a definite winner.

It is the small luxury you can enjoy on places often remote, kafeneio style where the menu is by definition short, seasonal and local. You can hear the oil hissing up to temperature at the back of a small open kitchen. In the tatties go and out they come in just a few minutes.  There is no dish they cannot accompany, be it grilled fish or keftethakia or horta or rabbit stew (and do stop me before I keep on going)

There is also the comfort homemade fries bring when at home. If it’s a bit late and there is nothing for supper then it’s going to be a couple of spruces quickly chopped and golden fried handful to enjoy with juicy tomatoes. A summer treat? Perhaps, although I still make them and have very fond memories of gran making them for me too back when I was studying and staying with her. (gosh that’s a long time ago).

Which spuds to use?

Well in Greece there is only one option and there is no other way around it: Naxian potatoes are the best and we use them for just about anything.  Here in London they take their potatoes very seriously! There are more than a dozen of well known varieties, but for the sake of simplification let’s keep it to waxy (best for salads) and floury that they fluff up when cooked with which you can do just about anything from chips, to roasting them and a very smooth mash too. If I got you itching about the different potato types, the great British chefs have it all sorted for you here. I used Maris Piper, it’s a classic

Another very Greek pairing for the fried potatoes, apart from salt obviously, is oregano. We are seriously in love with potato-oregano combination it has even made it to crisps. I enjoy my feta on them too, maybe a little more when on fries than on the salad but I will leave this up to you.

Let’s go make them (you hardly need a recipe I believe)

Print Recipe

Homemade fried potatoes with crumbled feta and oregano

Ingredients

• 1 large potato per person
• grams of crumbled feta
• A generous pinch of oregano
• 1 lt of vegetable oil these are deep fried after all.

Instructions

• Fill a deep pot with vegetable oil and heat it up.
• Peel and cut your potatoes in thin strips. Try to make them equally thick so they cook at the same time.
• Once the oil has heated up, dip in the chopped potatoes. You can test if the oil is ready with a bamboo skewer/chopstick, bubbles will gather around it.
• Dip the chopped potatoes low in the pot with a frying spoon (don’t throw them in, hot oil is extremely dangerous). Normally it takes 7-8 minutes to get golden coloured.
• Remove and rest the chips in thick kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
• Serve with crumbled feta, a bit of salt and sundried oregano.

From London with love,

Eugenia

May your days be as fun as fried potatoes! Να εί ναι οι μέρες σας γαμάτες, σαν τηγανιτές πατάτες!

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