There are few lunch combinations more universally irresistible than a Caesar salad and a side of french fries. Give me a bowl of crisp, chilled romaine and a basket of salty fries on a restaurant patio, and I’ll be hard-pressed to leave anytime soon. Up until now, I had thought the only way make the combo better was to pair it with a cold glass of rosé or a dirty martini. But then I saw Instagram creator Shay Spence collapse the separate dishes into one bowl, and I couldn’t believe I’d never thought of it before.
What is the french fry salad hack?
In his recent Instagram video, Shay chops frozen crinkle-cut fries into bite-sized pieces, cooks them until they’re deeply crisp, and then tosses them into Caesar salad in place of traditional croutons.
The key is to cut the fries while they’re still frozen. It feels mildly rebellious somehow, standing over a cutting board hacking apart frozen fries like you’re preparing for a very chaotic bistro shift, but it matters. Cutting them before cooking them allows all sides of the fry to crisp evenly in the oven or air fryer. Cutting them after they’re cooked, on the other hand, exposes the fluffy potato interior, which softens almost instantly once it hits the dressing.
How to Make French Fry Croutons
Shay makes his fries in an air fryer, while I opted for the oven method. After cutting the fries into bite-sized pieces, I placed them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I baked them at 425°F for about 25 minutes, tossing them halfway through to ensure even browning.
As soon as they turned golden and crisp, I pulled them from the oven and immediately tossed them with Parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and a little Zesty Lemon finishing salt, which was a fantastic combination.
Caesar salad is the obvious pairing for these french fry croutons, but they would also be excellent on a wedge salad, a crispy kale salad or even something loaded with Buffalo chicken. Anywhere you’d normally want a crunchy, salty element, french fry croutons work shockingly well.
Related:
- I Tried Caesar Salad Croissants, and I’m Never Eating Caesar Salad Any Other Way
- I Tried the Viral Salami Cups, and I Have One Note
- I Tried the Viral Smashed Croissant Trend, and It Might Be My Lunch Every Day for Forever
