Greek fries with feta and oregano bring potato fries to a whole new level. This Greek fries recipe is a healthy one as well as the fries get baked in the oven instead of being fried.
What Are Greek Fries?
Greek fries are a version of french fries that get cooked in olive oil. In Greece, they're called Patates Tiganites (patates = potatoes, tigatines = fried).
Table Of Contents
Greek fried potatoes traditionally are cooked in olive oil. Or in half olive oil and half other vegetable oil (such as sunflower oil).
But another way to make Greek fries, since deep frying in olive oil isn't the cheapest of options, is to make Baked Greek Fries (like we do in this recipe) that are even crispier using a very small amount of olive oil.
Greek Fries Vs French Fries
The differences between making French fries (and I'm talking about authentic French fries) and Greek French Fries are
a) Cutting. French fries need to be cut with perfectly squared edges (yes, they cook better that way, but who cares really?) while Greek fries needn't.
b) Poaching. French fries require some poaching in oil or water before being added to the hot oil. On the other hand, these Simple Greek fries don't require poaching (though I'm using a trick to poach them without cooking them that you can read about here).
c) Flavors and toppings. Classic French fries are seasoned plainly with salt while the Greek fries seasoning is made up of oregano as well. If baked, the oregano is added right at the beginning. If fried it is added afterward.
As for the toppings, Greek fries are almost always topped with feta cheese. Potatoes and feta are really one of the best combinations ever! And below are a few more recipes that prove it.
- Roasted Greek Baby Potatoes With Feta
- Greek Scrambled Eggs With Potatoes And Feta
- Warm Potato Salad With Spinach And Feta
Frying Potatoes In Olive Oil
How To Fry Potatoes In Olive Oil
You can fry potatoes in olive oil simply by covering the height of a pan with 1 cm of olive oil and then adding a layer of potato fries to it (without being stacked). The potatoes don't need to be covered with oil. You simply flip them every now and then until cooked.
Another way to fry potatoes in olive oil is to half-fill a frying pan with half olive oil and half vegetable oil (such as sunflower, canola, or corn oil) or you can buy a ready-made blend of extra virgin olive oil and sunflower.
Nutrition And Taste
Greek potato chips and fries that get fried in olive oil are not any healthier than the ones cooked in other vegetable oils.
Why aren't they healthier? Because when reaching frying temperatures all vegetable oils (including olive oil) start to break down and result in the loss of quality of the frying oil.
But they are much tastier. Olive oil is a much more flavorsome oil than other vegetable oils that have a bland flavor. Also, olive oil gives a nice deeper color to the potatoes.
Greek Fries Ingredients
This Greek fries recipe requires only 5 ingredients. Russet, Yukon Gold, or Maris Pipers potatoes, olive oil (if using extra virgin olive oil it's even better), oregano, fine salt, feta cheese crumbled.
How To Make Greek Fries
To make these delicious feta fries you first need to decide whether you want to fry or oven-bake. If you want my opinion, I prefer the baked fries.
Apart from some small amount of extra flavor that the frying adds (which you won't be missing really because of the seasonings and topping), there is no need to fry. You can make delicious Greek oven fries that are even crispier than the fried ones. Though that always depends on the potato variety you are using.
To make baked Greek fries peel and cut the potatoes. If you want to keep the skins on for extra nutrients, you can certainly do so. Slice the potatoes into ¼ inch (¾ cm) slices and then into ¼ inch (¾ cm) sticks.
For crispy oven fries, we will soak the potatoes in boiling hot water for 30 minutes. This is a quicker and easier way of softening the potatoes (instead of poaching them) before cooking them. Drain the potatoes afterward in a strainer and then dry them on paper towels.
The less moisture, the crispier the fries will be.
Preheat your oven very well to 200°C / 400°F. Then place the potatoes on a sheet pan or your oven's tray covered with a piece of parchment paper. Mix and rub the olive oil and the oregano all over the potatoes. Don't add the salt yet. Bake for about 20 minutes and then season with salt, toss and flip the potatoes so the salt spreads as well, and then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes at 220°C / 430°F.
RECIPE TIP: It's very important not to stack the potatoes when baking them. As they will become soft and won't get crispy.
How To Serve Greek-style Fries
These Greek feta fries are already very tasty as they are, but there are also a few other toppings you can add for even more flavor. As well as Greek dips to serve them with.
Toppings
- super thinly sliced red onion slices.
- minced or pressed garlic clove or cloves (if you can handle it).
- red wine vinegar, just a few drops. Use instead of lemon.
- diced cucumbers and diced tomato skins (scooped from their insides)
- Kalamata olive slices
- Cayenne pepper
Dips
This feta fries recipe is best served with some Tzatziki Dip, or Eggplant Dip (Melitzanosalata), or instead of making feta cheese fries and adding the cheese crumbled on top, make a feta cheese dip to serve them with such as Htipiti, or Bouyourdi (baked).
And if you want a delicious and light Vegetarian lunch make a Greek salad and serve it together with the potatoes.
Greek Fries Calories
Greek fries have fewer calories than classic fries because they contain much less oil (talking about the baked version here). One serving of these potatoes as a side is 302 kcal including the feta cheese.
Recipe
Greek Fries With Feta
Ingredients
For The Greek Fries:
- 800 grams / 1.7 pound (3 medium/large) Russet, Yukon Gold, or Maris Pipers potatoes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- â…” teaspoon table salt
To Serve With:
- 80 grams (â…“ cups) feta cheese
- lemon wedges
Instructions
To Make Baked Greek Fries:
- Peel the potatoes or leave the skins on if you prefer.
- Cut the potatoes into ¾ cm thick ( ¼ inch) sticks. Place them in a cooking pot and coat them with 1,5 of hot boiling water. Put the lid on and let them soak and soften for about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F.
- Transfer potatoes to a strainer and give them a good rinse.
- Let them drain for a few minutes and then transfer on paper towels or a clean tea towel. Pat them dry.
- Cover a baking tray or baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Toss the potatoes on top.
- Drizzle potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with the oregano. Toss and mix well. Lay them evenly making sure they're not stacked on top of each other.
- Bake for about 20 minutes. Take them out of the oven and raise the oven's temperature to 220°C / 430°F.
- Season the potatoes with salt. Flip and toss the potatoes to help salt spread everywhere. Again lay the potatoes evenly and place them back in the oven.
- Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until crisped and colored to your liking.
- To keep really crispy allow the potatoes to sit on the tray for 2-3 minutes after getting them out of the oven. Then transfer to a plate and serve topped with feta cheese and or any other of the topping mentioned in the text above.
