Pommes Paille, crispy potato straws, are ultra-thin french fries! They fry up in just 90 seconds, making them a speedy snack, or use as a classic garnish for dishes like tartare and tataki.
Pommes Paille – crispy potato straws
These crispy potato straws are the garnish I made for the Beef Tataki recipe that I also published today. I’m writing the recipe separately because it’s worthy of being a recipe by itself rather than buried in the tataki recipe!
Called pommes paille in France, which translates to ‘potato straws’, they resemble golden, crispy strands of straw piled high on your plate. There’s nothing like a mound of them with a juicy steak or steak tartare, or simply a large of bowl of them for snacking!
Unlike regular french fries, potato straws are great served hot or at room temperature, and they are crisp all the way through rather than just on the outside. Think – potato crisps. In fact, they are homemade french fry crisps which were always my favourite as a kid!
What you need for Crispy Potato Straws (Pommes Paille)
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Potato – Starchy or all-rounder potatoes. Australia: Sebago potatoes (the dirt brushed ones) are ideal, US: Russet, UK: Maris Piper. Just not waxy ones (they won’t go as crispy and don’t fry up as evenly golden).
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Oil – Vegetable oil, canola or any other natural flavoured oil. You only need about 2 cm / 0.8″ of oil.
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Salt flakes or table salt – Because the potato straws are so fine, I find that salt flakes stick better because they are lighter than the coarser grain cooking salt (kosher salt) that I use for everyday cooking. I crush the flakes up between my fingers before sprinkling them on. Fleur de sel also works because it has a similar delicateness to salt flakes, though it’s more expensive so I typically reserve it for more worthy purposes! If you don’t have salt flakes, use table salt.
How to make Crispy Potato Straws (Pommes Paille)
As long as you’ve got a julienne mandolin, it’s relatively quick to make – a fraction of the time of traditional French fries. There’s no soaking or pre-boiling or twice frying. Just julienne the potato, rinse off excess starch then they only take 90 seconds to fry up to crispy golden perfection!
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Julienne – Use a julienne mandolin to finely cut the potato into thin strands. The orange mandolin pictured cuts the potato into 2 mm thick pieces (1/16″) so the potato straws are delicately crisp (ideal to use as garnish). To serve as a side dish alongside a protein, it’s typically a touch thicker so use a 3 – 4mm / 1/8″ julienne mandolin.
If you don’t have a julienne mandolin, show off your knife skills! Finely slice the potato into rounds, stack, then finely slice.
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Water bowl – Transfer cut potato straight into a large bowl of water, to prevent them from going brown.
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Rinse the potato in the bowl, re-filling with fresh water as needed, until the water runs clear. The cloudiness is from the starch from the potato. It is not a friend of crispiness, so we want to get ride of it. Then drain the potato in a colander.
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Dry – tip the potato onto a tea towel then pat dry using another tea towel. Get off as much excess water as you can as this will reduce how much the oil bubbles up when you cook as well as a crispy insurance. If time permits, just spread out on a tea towel, pat dry then leave to air dry for an hour or so (I typically try to do this).
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Frying – Heat 2.5 cm (1″) of oil in a saucepan or pot to 180°C/350°F being sure to leave 10cm/4″ headroom above the oil surface to the rim of the saucepan (oil bubbling clearance, see below for before/after comparison).
Scatter potato slowly across the surface (don’t dump in one place). Add enough so the potato is in a single layer, this will keep them more straight (too many = tangled and curly and will take longer to cook). Pause if the oil starts bubbling too energetically then keep adding more potato. ⚠️ Warning: The oil will bubble up when you add the potato so add slowly, then add more as it subsides (it bubbles up the most when the first lot of potato goes in).
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Fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, separating tangled potatoes, or until the potato straws are crispy and light golden (they will go a deeper golden as they drain). Scoop out then drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining potato straws. Sprinkle with salt then serve!
How to serve Crisp Potato Straws (Pommes Paille)
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Warm or at room temperature – Unlike regular French fries which are at their best served hot, potato straws are great warm or at room temperature. This is because they are crisp all the way through, like potato crisps. Also, they stay 100% crisp for at least 5 days!
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Side dish – Pile a mountain of them on the side of a steak with Bearnaise Sauce or Café de Paris butter- and you’ve got Steak Frites! But they are equally at home alongside pan fried fish or Fish with White Wine Sauce, burgers (a cheeseburger!) or a simple piece of chicken like Chicken Francese, Chicken with Creamy Mustard Sauce or Chicken Piccata (this would be my pick)
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Garnish – For the thinner potato straws, as pictured (2mm / 1/16″ thick), these are ideal to use when you’re looking for a textural garnish to add a bit of fancy pizzaz to a dish! Here are some ideas:
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Beef tataki (accompanying recipe)
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Steak or tuna tartare (coming one day!)
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Similar dishes like carpaccio and other crudos where you want a delicate crispy garnish to finish the dish
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But really, the best way to eat them is in a giant bowl to munch on by the fistful! Excellent for snacking or for pre dinner drinks (I speak from experience here!). – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Crispy potato straws (Pommes Paille)
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Sides
French
Servings1
Tap or hover to scale
Instructions
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Shred – Finely julienne the potato using a julienne mandoline, 2-4 mm / 1/16 – 1/8″ thick. (Note 2)
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Rinse – Place potato in a bowl of water and rinse, changing the water as needed, until the water is clear. Drain in a colander. (Potato can be kept in water overnight in the fridge).
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Dry – Spread on tea towels then pat dry. If time permits, spread out and air dry for 1 hour+. (Drier potato = less oil bubbling + crispier fries).
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Heat the oil in a saucepan over high heat to 180°C/350°F, ensuring there is 10 cm/4″ clearance above the oil surface (the oil bubbles up).
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Add potato into oil – SLOWLY scatter potato across the surface of the oil (don’t dump in once place). ⚠️The oil will bubble up to ~7cm/3″, so add potato slowly, and you can pause until the bubbles subside before adding more. (Note 3 for cooking tips)
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Fry for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes, using chopsticks (or similar) to stir once or twice. Once light golden and crisp, scoop out and drain on paper towels. (It goes more golden as it drains). Repeat with remaining potato.
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Season – Carefully slide the fries into a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and gently toss. Serve immediately while warm, or cool.
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Serve in bowls for munching, as a garnish like for Beef Tataki or serve a mound alongside a juicy steak or other protein (see in post for more ideas).
Recipe Notes:
2. Julienne size – Thinner (2mm / 1/16″) is ideal if using to garnish dishes like the Beef Tataki. 4mm / 1/8″ thick is regular thickness for Pommes Paille served as a side to mains, like steak. Recipe will work for both, and both are delicious! (Thinner = cooks faster and more delicate).
3. Frying tips
- Fry a single layer of potatoes at a time
- Don’t crowd the pot, the potato will tangle, they will brown unevenly and take longer to cook.
- The oil bubbles madly at first when you add the potato but it will subside to a sizzle. Once the sizzle stops and it looks like the potatoes are just poaching in oil, that’s usually about the time the fries are ready!
- Don’t dump the potatoes in one place, it causes the oil to bubble up madly and the potato will tangle (and break when you try to separate).
Storage – Once fully cool, it will stay crispy for 5 – 6 days in an airtight container, in the pantry. You can also reheat in a 150°C/300°F oven for 3 – 5 minutes.
Life of Dozer
Last weekend – bounding his way through his senior years! Very used to his life jacket now. Less stress for me, means I don’t have to worry even if he swims way off shore.
