I Can’t Stop Making These Super-Crispy “Cottage Fries” (Your Family Will Devour Them)

Lindsay Funston
·2 min read
2
a pile of round cottage fries (home fried potatoes) on a white plate with a blue and white striped napkin underneath and ketchup and salt on the side
Credit: Kelli Foster Credit: Kelli Foster

If you’ve been following my potato journey, you’ll know that I wasn’t actually too crazy about them until I tried Christine’s life-changing crispy skillet fried potatoes. I’m not exaggerating — these potatoes will make you rethink the way you’re currently cooking potatoes, and a believer in the spud if you’re not already.

Now that I’ve come to the starch side, I’ve been experimenting with more interesting ways to cook a potato and came across this recipe for Cottage Fries. The name alone caught my eye: What is a cottage fry?! I wondered. I was immediately convinced I needed to try them after reading Kelli’s convincing description: “These seasoned rounds are lightly crisped on the outside and super fluffy on the inside, and I can never resist reaching for just one more.”

a pile of round cottage fries (home fried potatoes) on a white plate
Credit: Kelli Foster Credit: Kelli Foster

We all know the gold standard potato texture is crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. We also know that it can be hard to achieve. I was ready to see if these cottage fries lived up to Kelli’s hype since she calls them “impossibly comforting and shockingly simple.” Sign me up.

Beyond the name, the shape of these potatoes intrigued me. I’ve baked potatoes whole, roasted quartered potatoes, sautéed smaller chopped diner-style potatoes for breakfast, but I don’t really think to do round coins like this.

Get the recipe: Crispy Cottage Fries

Why This Recipe Really Works

You start with Russets, which are preferred, I learned, for fries because of their super-fluffy centers. (Basically they’re starchier than a Yukon or red potato.) You gather some spices — basic ones that you likely have in your pantry like paprika, garlic powder, and dried thyme — and then toss those with the potatoes and olive oil so they’re real slick.

Arrange the sliced potatoes on the baking sheet (no overlapping allowed unless you want a soggy cottage fry, which is absolutely not the vibe we’re going for here!) and bake for 25 minutes. You want these rounds to take on some color at this stage. Flip and continue roasting for another 10 to 15 minutes. (As with all good potatoes, time is your friend.)

The results are pretty magical — and wildly hands-off! As much as I obsess over our skillet-fried potatoes, I’ll admit that the step when you have to flip each potato is kind of a pain. These get sliced, tossed, and thrown in the oven. The potatoes you get are so much more delicious than the level of effort would suggest. Wherever you happen to be on your potato journey, I guarantee these are worth a stop.

Get the recipe: Crispy Cottage Fries

This article originally published on The Kitchn. See it there: I Can’t Stop Making These Super-Crispy “Cottage Fries” (No Other Potato Recipe Tops It)