French fries

• potatoes↗1kg Maris Piper or King Edward kg

  Maris Piper or King Edward

• vegetable oil↗

  for deep frying

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons 1 cm thick. Place them in a bowl of cold water and let soak for at least 2 hours to remove starch – this helps them become crispy when fried.

2. 2

   Drain the water from the potatoes well and pat them dry with a paper towel. Fill a deep pot no more than one‑third with oil and heat to 140 °C, or until a bread cube dropped into the oil browns in 60 seconds. Fry the potato sticks in batches for 6 minutes, until they become golden‑straw‑colored, cooked inside and slightly crisp. Drain well onto a paper towel.

3. 3

   Increase the temperature until the oil reaches 180 °C, or the bread cube browns in 30 seconds. Fry the potato sticks a second time for 2–3 minutes per batch, until they become lightly golden and very crisp. Drain onto a paper towel and immediately season with sea salt.