Ah, the humble potato. Beloved of people…everywhere, really. Delicious, nutritious, versatile – truly, there has never been a more perfect food.
Fry ’em, bake ’em, boil and/or mash them – short of burning them to a crisp, there is literally (in my opinion) no way for you to make a potato un-appealing. And did you know that they’re good for you? They’re packed with more potassium than a banana, and are bursting with vitamins, fiber, and iron.
Think about that the next time you feel guilty about reaching for that extra French fry 😉
And speaking of French fries, can we all agree that they’re the absolute best way to cook potatoes? I like ’em thin and crispy, long and soggy, fat and fluffy, wavy, plain (with lots of salt/pepper, of course), home fried, loaded with melted cheese, smothered in chili, piled onto sandwiches, and wrapped around hot dogs.
They are my kryptonite. No matter how good I’m being on a diet, if you wave a plate of fries under my nose, that diet is toast. Which is why, back when I was trying to lose weight to fit into my wedding dress, Dan was not allowed to have fries with his burger/sandwich orders.
With that kind of fry-love, it should come as no surprise that, when I got selected for a campaign for the Potato Board recently, my mind turned instantly to fries.
Luckily, fries fit right into the theme I picked for this post, which is “Mardi Gras”/New Orleans. In my mind, Mardi Gras is all about letting loose, having fun, indulging in excess and treating yo’self, which in turn means…drunk food to soak up all that fun and excess. And, what’s a more perfect drunk food than fried potatoes?
Of course, no New Orleans-themed recipe can be complete without some Cajun flair, so I jazzed my fries up with some crunchy fried shrimp and spicy/tangy remoulade. If that feels familiar to you, it’s because these are, as you might suspect, the french fry version of the super popular Louisiana classic: the shrimp po’boy.
Dan’s cousin served mini po’boys at her wedding in New Orleans last year, and they were so good. Crunchy, tangy, salty and a little spicy – they were a revelation of flavors and textures. It’s possible that they’ve been on my mind ever since, and that I’ve been looking for an excuse to make them for myself.
For this post, which is an homage to those killer po-boys (also, my undying love for french fries), I decided to go with Russet potatoes. There are more than a 100 types of potatoes sold in the US, but Russets are my favorite. They’re easy to find in stores, they’re affordable, and they just taste really good.
And, instead of frying my potato strips, I opted to bake them in the oven (mainly because my fryer is tiny and also I couldn’t find it). You can fry yours if you want, but I promise you won’t miss it with this recipe. The potatoes crisped up perfectly in the oven and developed beautiful golden-brown crusts.
Crisp on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside – just the way you want a fry to be.
And if you were thinking that fried shrimp, a bunch of creamy/tangy sauces, and crispy french fries wouldn’t be good together…you’d be wrong, my friend. Very wrong. Remember that revelation of flavors and textures I mentioned earlier? This is the same, except instead of chewy/toasty French bread, you have crispy/fluffy fried potatoes. For maximum enjoyment, I recommend some forks, extra dipping sauce, and a couple bourbon-based cocktails.
Give this recipe a try…I promise you won’t regret it!
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp stone ground dijon mustard w/ horseradish (or, Creole mustard)
- 2 tsp hot sauce of choice
- 1-1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp chili sauce
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 dash cayenne pepper
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ a ripe avocado, cubed
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- Salt, to taste
- 1 lb russet potatoes (unpeeled), scrubbed clean
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 1 lb shrimp (shells removed and de-veined)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup cornmeal
- 2-1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika (smoked, if you have it)
- Oil, for frying
- Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use (up to one week).
- Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth and chunk-free.
- Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use (up to one week)
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Mix cayenne pepper, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
- Slice your potatoes into long strips.
- Place the potato strips into a bowl and pour hot (not boiling) water over top. Let sit for 10 minutes, then drain and thoroughly pat all your strips dry.
- Place the potatoes on your prepared baking sheet and drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with your salt mixture.
- Using your hands, toss the potatoes until each strip is fully coated with oil and seasoning.
- Bake until the fries are golden and crisp, about 20-25 minutes.
- Remove fries from the oven and place them on a paper towel to drain slightly.
- While your potatoes are baking, get started on your shrimp.
- In a small bowl, combine your salt, cayenne, garlic powder, and paprika, and mix well.
- Place your shrimp in medium bowl and pat them with a paper towel to dry slightly.
- Sprinkle half your salt mixture over your shrimp and toss to coat each shrimp with seasoning.
- Heat a pot of oil over medium heat until small bubbles form on the bottom of your pot.
- Pour your buttermilk into a bowl.
- On a shallow dish, combine your flour and cornmeal, and the rest of your salt mixture.
- Dip your shrimp in the buttermilk to coat, then dredge them in the flour mixture.
- Working in batches, place coated shrimp into your hot oil, and fry for about 3 minutes (until golden brown).
- Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove fried shrimp and let drain on a plate covered with paper towels.
- Continue until all the shrimp are fried.
- Place your fries on a large plate (or, in my case, a large skillet).
- Toss your fried shrimp on top.
- Drizzle generously with avocado sour cream and remoulade (I poured my sauces into sauce bottles for drizzling, but you can also just use sandwich bags with a corner snipped off).
- Garnish with chopped tomatoes and green onions (if desired).
- Serve immediately.
- Enjoy!
(Fries and Remoulade adapted slightly from Coley Cooks; Fried Shrimp adapted slightly from Urban Cookery)
** I have been compensated for this post; however, all opinions are my own.
OMG these look AMAZING!! I’m actually headed down to New Orleans this weekend for Mardi Gras, and this post just got me really excited to eat a po’boy and sooo much shrimp. Thanks for the pingback! 🙂
Oh man, so jealous! Eat a few extra po’boys for me, OK? 🙂