Oven Fries With Tahini Yogurt and Smoky-Sweet Nuts

Published June 16, 2021

Oven Fries With Tahini Yogurt and Smoky-Sweet Nuts
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1¼ hours
Rating
4(463)
Comments
Read comments

This is an alternative take on loaded fries, but the cheesy sauce is replaced with tahini yogurt and the bacon bits with smoky-sweet nuts. It’s no less decadent, however, and a great one to dig into and share. Double up on the smoky-sweet nuts, if you like. They’re an easy way to introduce both texture and flavor to dishes, and are particularly good spooned onto hummus.

Featured in: Oven Fries by Way of Bahrain, New York and London

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

    For the Potatoes

    • pounds/1 kilogram skin-on Yukon Gold (or King Edward) potatoes, cut lengthwise into roughly ½-inch/1½-centimeter-thick sticks
    • 2teaspoons rice flour
    • 2tablespoons olive oil
    • Kosher salt

    For the Pickled Herb Stems

    • 1heaping tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) or parsley stems (or a mixture of both)
    • tablespoons apple cider vinegar

    For the Smoky-sweet Nuts

    • 3tablespoons olive oil
    • cup/40 grams pine nuts
    • ¼cup/30 grams roughly chopped blanched almonds
    • 1teaspoon light brown sugar
    • 1teaspoon nigella seeds (or black sesame seeds)
    • 1teaspoon Urfa chile flakes
    • 1teaspoon Aleppo chile flakes
    • ½teaspoon hot smoked paprika

    For the Tahini Yogurt

    • 3tablespoons/60 grams Greek-style yogurt
    • tablespoons/50 grams tahini
    • tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    • 2garlic cloves, minced
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

566 calories; 36 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 12 grams protein; 778 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit/200 degrees Celsius.

  2. Step 2

    On a large parchment-lined baking sheet (tray), toss the potatoes with the rice flour, oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread them out in an even layer so they’re not overlapping. Cover the baking sheet tightly with foil and bake for 15 minutes, until the potatoes steam and soften slightly.

  3. Step 3

    Meanwhile, make the pickled stems: Add the herb stems to a small bowl with the vinegar and set aside to gently pickle.

  4. Step 4

    Prepare the nuts: Add the oil to a small frying pan and heat over medium-high. Once hot, add the pine nuts and almonds, and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted and nicely browned, about 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in the sugar, nigella seeds, Urfa and Aleppo chile flakes, paprika, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Transfer to a bowl.

  5. Step 5

    Make the tahini yogurt: Add all the ingredients to a bowl with 2½ tablespoons water and ¼ teaspoon salt; whisk until smooth. Add an additional 1 or 2 tablespoons of water, if needed, until the mixture is just pourable, since it tends to thicken as it sits.

  6. Step 6

    Remove the foil from the potatoes, turn the heat up to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 degrees Celsius and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Use a spatula to gently flip the fries over, separating them if they stick together at all, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more, until nicely golden and crispy. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

  7. Step 7

    To serve, transfer the fries to a large serving platter and drizzle with the tahini yogurt. Spoon the nut mixture on top, followed by the pickled stems and their liquid. Serve immediately.

Ratings

4 out of 5
463 user ratings
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Comments

I still think about a post hike snack that my BnB host in Capadoccia made for me in 1996. Turkish style “disco” fries….fries smothered in a sundried, warm tomato sauce drizzled with a garlicky, yogurt sauce.

Yummy! The nuts almost burned in under 60 seconds. Careful not to over flour potatoes. Didn’t have the exotic peppers so used a bit more paprika and cayenne. But the spiciness seem to come from the cilantro pickles. This was amazing, heart healthy! & Dairy free. Thank you

Yogurt can be dairy-free.

Oh my god, make this. I made it exactly as written. I'm sure it's not essential to go find urfa chilis but I happened to have them and they're terrific (mild, sweet, smoky). If I were to change anything in this recipe, it would be to increase the amount of pickled cilantro stems on top. They were such a great little counterpoint!

Recipe is missing where the 2 T oil in the fries is??

@OlyCooker If you look at step 2, it appears right after the rice flour.

This is outstanding. The spiced nuts really take this dish to great heights. An excellent way to cook perfect oven fries too. I decreased the baking time because I was using convection. I found the yogurt sauce too bitter when I mixed it up, but this was probably due to the very tangy homemade yogurt I used. I ended up making an aioli with a little tahini and cream added to it instead. I didn’t have the peppers called for, so substituted regular pepper flakes and it was delicious.

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