Julienned white sweet potatoes fried in olive oil, sprinkled with coarse kosher salt and Herbes de Provence then dunked in smoky fry sauce. Get the recipe.
Shoestring French fries are simply the ultimate junk food. They're thin and crispy, salty and greasy. And when you can dunk them in fry sauce (it's a Utah thing), you're really indulging. So this is my Lectin Free Gourmet take on junk food. Read on for the recipe.
If you've ever been to Utah, you likely encountered something called fry sauce. I moved to Utah from Minnesota in 1990. The Mormon culture was a bit of a shock having been raised in an evangelical household. For the most part, Mormons make really great neighbors, and they also make really great fry sauce. It's pretty much ketchup and mayonnaise. And it's available in every restaurant in Utah that served French fries. I put my own smoky spin on the Utah classic sauce by adding clear liquid smoke. It give is a more unique, open pit flavor and goes great with the sweet potatoes we're going to use for our shoestring fries.
This recipe is quite easy, but you'll need a couple kitchen gadgets to make your life a little easier. First, a mandolin slicer with a julienne attachment will ensure all your shoestrings are the same width. Second, a deep fryer will get those julienned cuts submerged in hot oil so they're crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
You'll also need some good frying oil. I like either pure olive oil (not extra virgin). Pure olive oil is a refined oil made 100% from olives. Because it's refined, it loses a lot of the olive taste and has a higher smoke point. It's great for deep frying. Another great frying oil is rice bran oil. It's on Dr. Gundry's Yes list. Like pure olive oil, rice bran oil has a very neutral flavor and high smoke point, both which make this oil also ideal for the deep fryer. If you have trouble finding rice bran oil, here's a link to buy a big one-gallon jug on Amazon for a great price.
As an Amazon Associate, I can include convenient links for hard to find ingredients for you here on my blog. Amazon gives me a small (very small) kickback. And you get the benefit of not having to find the best price. I've already done that for you. This particular brand is kosher and is enough to fill a small deep fryer twice. I fill mine only about every six months, as the oil keeps nicely covered while I'm not using the fryer.
And can we discuss air fryers for a second? I get a lot of LFG site members asking me if they can air fry my recipes when they call for deep frying. The short answer is yes. But the correct answer is WHY WOULD YOU!?!?
The concept of air frying is to use less oil, right? But one of the main points of the Plant Paradox lifestyle, aside from reducing your lectin intake, is to get more good fats into your body. So deep frying in a good, Gundry-approved oil is definitely the way to go.
Now, let's get to the recipe.
The Recipe
Shoestrings Fries
1 Large White Sweet Potato
Pure Olive or Rice Bran Oil (for frying)
1 tsp Coarse Kosher Salt
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
Smoky Fry Sauce
3 Tbsp Avocado Oil Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp Strained Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Raw Local Honey
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4 tsp Clear Liquid Smoke
Instructions:
Step 1: Make the Fry Sauce
In a medium bowl, whisk mayo, strained tomatoes, honey, salt, paprika, and liquid smoke until smooth. Scrape into a serving ramekin and set aside or chill until ready to use. This sauce improves as it sits, so you could make it hours before.
Step 2: Julienne the Sweet Potatoes
Preheat the deep fryer to 320 degrees F. If you prefer, you can peel the sweet potato. The skins are good for you and have extra fiber and nutrients, so it's okay to leave them on. It's really an aesthetic preference. Sometimes I like my healthy lectin free food to resemble the junk food I'm hacking. So, peel on or peel off, julienne cut your sweet potato. It's easiest with the julienne blade on a manolin slicer. But you could certainly cut your sweet potato by hand. Just make sure your cuts are about 1/4 inch thick.
Step 3: Deep Fry the Sweet Potatoes
Drop the julienned sweet potatoes in the hot oil and fry for about 3 minutes or until your fryer comes back up to temperature as signaled by a "ready" light. Lift the fries out in the basket and let drain for a few seconds. Then dump them into a paper lined serving basket or plate.
Sprinkle fries with coarse kosher salt and Herbes de Provence. Serve with smoky fry sauce and a Zevia Cola. Now this feels naughty, but it's actually quite nice.
ENJOY!