Truffle Parmesan Fries
Crispy fries showered with truffle oil, Parmesan, and herbs — a collision between a disputed 18th-century Parisian street food and one of the oldest luxury ingredients in culinary history, prized since Sumerian Mesopotamia.
- 2 lbsrusset potatoes(cut into 1/4-inch fries)
- vegetable oil(for frying)
- 2 tbspwhite truffle oil
- 0.75 cupparmesan cheese(finely grated)
- 2 tbspfresh parsley(chopped)
- 1 tbspfresh thyme leaves
- 1 tspflaky sea salt
- 0.5 tspblack pepper(freshly cracked)
- 1 clovegarlic(minced)
Potatoes can be cut and soaked up to 24 hours ahead. First fry can be done 2 hours ahead. Final fry and seasoning must be done just before serving.
- 1Soak cut potatoes in cold water for at least 1 hour to remove starch
- 2Drain and dry potatoes thoroughly with towels
- 3Heat oil to 325°F and fry potatoes in batches for 4-5 minutes until pale and soft
- 4Remove and drain on wire rack; let rest 10 minutes
- 5Heat oil to 375°F and fry again for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy
- 6Drain on fresh wire rack
- 7Immediately toss hot fries with truffle oil and garlic
- 8Add parmesan, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper
- 9Toss to coat evenly
- 10Serve immediately while hot and crispy
The double-fry technique is essential for crispy-outside, fluffy-inside fries. Use real truffle oil, not synthetic truffle flavoring - the difference is significant. Add the truffle oil while fries are hot so it absorbs. Don't skimp on the parmesan.
The two key ingredients in this dish have remarkably divergent histories. The truffle is one of the oldest luxury foods on record: the Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia were documented truffle eaters by around 4100 BCE, and the Greek philosopher Theophrastus (371–287 BCE), one of the first botanical writers, puzzled over how truffles could grow "without any seeds." Pliny the Elder, writing in his Natural History in the 1st century AD, called truffles "calluses of the earth" and marvelled at their status as one of "the greatest of all the marvels of nature"; Cicero described them as "children of the earth." The Roman cookbook De re coquinaria contains recipes for cooking truffles with olive oil, fish sauce, and pepper. Truffles fell out of favour during the Middle Ages, when their underground nature made them objects of suspicion. King Francis I reintroduced them to the French court in the 16th century, and in 1825, the French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin defined them as "the diamond of the kitchen." The Périgord black truffle (Tuber melanosporum) from France and the white Alba truffle (Tuber magnatum) from northern Italy remain among the world's most expensive foods. The French fry has a shorter and more disputed lineage. The potato itself reached Europe from South America via Spanish conquistadors from the mid-16th century. Belgian lore claims fries were invented in the Meuse Valley by villagers frying potato strips as a substitute for frozen-river fish, but Wikipedia notes the potato did not arrive in that region until around 1735, making the story chronologically impossible. Belgian food historian Pierre Leclercq asserts that fries are of French origin, with the first recorded mention appearing in a Parisian publication in 1775. The combination of truffle and Parmesan on fried potatoes became a signature of upscale American comfort-food dining in the 1990s and 2000s.