Roasted Potatoes w/ Aleppo and Alioli

Who doesn’t like potatoes? Even toddlers love potatoes, and from experience, we can tell you, they don’t love a whole lot. Speaking of potatoes, we’ve never taken Henry to McDonald’s. I don’t think it’s because we’re snobs, it’s just that our local branch looks like a total zoo. Supposedly it’s the busiest branch in the world, located on Canal Street, a few blocks from our house. It’s right at the crossroads of Lafayette and Broadway, at the subway stop, drawing in most of Chinatown and tourists trolling for cheap watches.

But we do take him to Lucky Strike, also around the corner. We like the atmosphere, with its faux bistro décor, the menu written in white paint on mirrors, zinc bar, worn wood, rows of empty wine bottles, and so on. It’s kind of like Balthazar but very snug and warm. The food is decent, but the fries are excellent—curly, thinnish, crisp, and served in a basket next to a bottle of Heinz. Henry loves them, yet he won’t touch the mashed potatoes.

I’m not sure he’d even like great mashed potatoes, which we make at home and for our parties. Great mashed potatoes are boiled in or out of their skins and put through a food mill, where they are doused in butter and cream, salted and served. The smoother the better.

Americans, of course, prefer their potatoes fried. Crunchy, salty food is irresistible. A roast chicken (to come in a later post) without crispy skin is useless. Fried chicken needs no explanation.

I think we also love the snack aspect of fries. We sit there before a bowl of crisp, crinkled coils (alliteration) and snatch them up in mindless but satisfying repetition. What’s a bar without pretzels or nuts? We’ll munch the oldest, driest pretzels. Good fries are more delicious, but you get the point.

No one wants to fry at home-at least with regularity-but we love potatoes, we love to snack, and we love anything creamy with a crisp casing (see hot dogs). Roasting is the easiest alternative. A roasted potato is crisp and seductively browned. Salted is fantastic, but salted and seasoned with spice is better. After some experimenting, we found Aleppo pepper is the best spice for the job. Aleppo is a crushed, dried pepper. It’s actually rich and sort of oily, a unique quality among spices, which tend to be flavorful but dry. Aleppo heightens the richness of a roasted potato, simulating further the fatty, delicious French fry. It’s also red, which is cool. Fingerling potatoes are great simply because they’re long and look like a fry.

We top them with alioli, the garlicky Spanish dressing which resembles a thin mayonnaise. All in all, French fries at home-a crisp, creamy snack food, which is easy to make.

Roasted Potatoes w/ Aleppo and Alioli
Serves 6-8

2 pounds fingerling potatoes, scrubbed and halved lengthwise
1/3 cup olive oil plus two tablespoons
2 tablespoons Aleppo pepper (or paprika)
Alioli (recipe below)
2 tablespoons minced chives
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl toss the potatoes with the 1/3 cup oil and season well with salt and pepper.
3. Oil a roasting pan or sheet tray with the remaining olive oil. Lay the potatoes cut side down and shuffle around to make sure they’re coated with the oil. Roast until browned on the bottom, about 35 minutes.
4. Remove, arrange on a long tray or platter and sprinkle well with the Aleppo. Drizzle with alioli, sprinkle with chives. Alternatively toss in a bowl and serve alongside a bowl of alioli topped with some chives.

Alioli
Makes 1 cup

4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup olive oilsalt and pepper

1. Combine the first three ingredients in a blender or food processor. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil until emulsified. Season well.