These oven baked lemon pepper fries will be right up your alley if you have a thing for lemons, so if that’s the case, give them a try!
If you make everything from scratch, Lemon Pepper Fries are not technically a weeknight meal. However, the lemon pepper spice produces a lot and goes a long way, so you can make lemon pepper fries (or eggs, or toast, or potato wedges, or broccoli) whenever you want to!
Ingredients Needed:
Seasoning with Lemon and Pepper
5 lemons zested (should result in about 3-4 tablespoons of zest).
3 tablespoons of black pepper that has been freshly cracked.
1 teaspoon kosher salt.
Lemon Pepper Fries
2 potoatoes yukon gold or russet.
1 tablespoon olive oil.
salt and pepper.
2 milligrams of the condiment called lemon pepper.
Instructions
How to Make the Seasoning with Lemon and Pepper
Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 170 degrees (this is the lowest temperature that my oven will go).
Remove the zest from your five lemons, and then scatter it across the parchment paper. After thirty to forty-five minutes in the oven, or until it feels dry to the touch, remove the zest and leave it to cool.
Pepper should be ground up while the zest is cooling. It will take a little bit of time if you have to do this manually, but freshly ground pepper is SO MUCH better than pre-ground pepper. It is well worth one’s time and effort.
In an airtight jar, combine the lemon zest, pepper, and the teaspoon of salt. The mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months.
For the preparation of lemon pepper fries.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil or parchment paper and preheating the oven to 425 degrees.
After cutting your potatoes into the shape of fries, give them a quick washing in a bowl of running water.
After thoroughly drying them with a clean dish towel or some paper towels, spread the potatoes out in a single layer on the baking sheet. Salt and pepper should also be added once the olive oil has been drizzled on top. Toss the potatoes to evenly coat them.
Cook the potatoes in the oven for twenty to thirty minutes, turning them over halfway during the cooking process. The amount of time needed will vary depending on the thickness of the potato slices.
Take the baking sheet out of the oven and immediately sprinkle the lemon pepper spice over the potatoes while they are still hot.
Notes and Suggestions:
You can buy dried lemon zest in specialist food stores or on websites like Amazon if you don’t feel like drying your own lemon zest yourself. However, making your own at home will save you a TON of money.
Be sure to only zest the yellow peel, and stay away from the white pith underneath the peel because it has a very bitter flavor.
Although using a Microplane Zester to zest a lemon is the method that I recommend the most, you can also use a standard grater.
