Although McCain oven chips are very convenient and I’m always happy to eat them, I realise you can’t beat good old fashioned homemade chips.  Triple cooked chips have become very trendy in gastro pubs, but we’ve been making them this way for years and they’re well worth the effort.

Serves: 2
Preparation & Cooking Time: 90 minutes( mostly chilling)
Effort Level: easy
Shelf Life: can be made 1-2 days ahead

Ingredients:
3 large floury potatoes (Maris Piper or Rooster are good)
Sea salt
1 lite vegetable or sunflower oil

Equipment:
Chopping board & sharp knife
Thermometre (optional)
Large saucepan
Slotted soon
Baking tray
Colander
Kitchen towel

Here’s What You Do:
Peel the potatoes then trim off their rounded sides and square them up. Cut into 1cm thick slices lengthways and then into strips, to give you chips.

Place in the saucepan, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 10 minutes, then rinse well and cover with fresh cold water and add a dash of salt. Place over a high heat and when they come up to the boil, cook  for 5- 7 minutes. Pierce the centre with a knife, they want to be softish but not fully cooked.

Drain into the colander and run under the cold tap to stop further cooking. Pat dry with a tea towel then arrange them on a tray lined with kitchen towel and stick in the freezer for 30 minutes.

After 25 minutes, fill a saucepan a third full of oil and place on a medium heat. It’s ready when the temperature reaches 130°C,  if you don’t have a thermometer, ‘test cook’ a chip, it’s hot enough when the chip is surrounded by 100’s of tiny bubbles.

Don’t overcrowd the pan or the temperature will drop. Otherwise fry the chips in small batches, for approx 3-4 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon when they’re just starting to colour.

Drain onto fresh sheets of kitchen towel and allow to cool for 10 minutes before returning to the freezer for half an hour.

You can prepare the chips up to this stage and keep refridgerated for 24 hours if necessary.

When you’re ready to serve, heat the oil until it’s very hot and has a slight haze – (180°C). It should bubble furiously when you add a ‘test’ chip. Fry the chips until they are crisp and golden – approx 5 minutes, then drain onto kitchen towel and season with a grinding of sea salt.

Serve.