Truffle Fries
With a complex flavor from truffles and parmesan, truffle fries put a favorite potato side dish over the top! 
Did you discover any new foods as a result of the pandemic? Well this is a dish we grew to love as a tasty takeout side. And when things got better, I knew I needed to try it myself.
Yes, Truffle Fries combine elements of casual (the fries) and classy (truffles). This means you can eat them with a nice burger or a more elegant seafood shish kabob. Yum. And yum! 
What are truffles and what are they doing in my fries?
While you may never have seen a truffle (in person), you’ve probably seen pictures of pigs or dogs sniffing around the French countryside in search of the prized underground fungus.
Per Wikipedia “A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus… Some of the truffle species are highly prized as food. French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin called truffles “the diamond of the kitchen”.”
Yes, truffles may be a culinary delight, but they’re a challenge to forage and an even bigger challenges to cultivate. This means they currently start around $95/ounce. Yes,that’s start and ounce.
But if you want the flavor without the extreme price, truffle oil is a lower cost alternative that still delivers loads of flavor.
Now I don’t know who first thought of making truffle fries, but it was genius! A small amount of truffle oil, drizzled over French fries and tossed with Parmesan cheese, salt and parsley can deliver a lot of flavor. And at a much more reasonable price than a gourmet truffle dinner!
Egalitarian dining at it’s best!
Step by Step Directions
My recipe for making fries employs a simplified version of the “double cook” method, which is often used to make crisper homemade fries. But since I do the first cooking in the microwave, it’s a little easier. (Or keep reading for how to use frozen fries).
You start by cutting the potatoes into fries. Set on a paper towel topped plate and microwave on the baked potato setting for 2-3 potatoes, depending on the size of your potatoes–you want them to be slightly undercooked.
When fries are almost tender, toss with olive oil, place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake in 425 F oven for 10-15 minutes until golden, stirring once or twice. (Or you can bake frozen fries according to package directions.)
When fries are tender and browned, push them into a pile (make a tighter pile than shown here to avoid loss of truffle oil) then toss with grated cheese, truffle oil and salt or truffle salt. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. 
Enjoy hot.
How do I select a truffle oil
Do you happen to know a local mushroom gatherer who imports truffles from Europe? If so that’s a good place to go looking for truffle oil!
When I talked to Milwaukee mushroom hunter Diane Summers-Yelton of Mushroom Lady LLC (not a sponsored post), I didn’t even know if I should go with white truffle oil or black truffle oil. Her advice? The black truffle oil is more flavorful so try that if you’re confident you’ll like the flavor. For those who are more timid and want a “starter” truffle oil, she suggested the white. 
Since I was jumping into this with both feet, I went with the black. I also walked away with some truffle salt, speckled with tiny bits of truffle!
Now my truffle oil was natural, courtesy of hand-crafting! But a lot of what you find on the market is flavored with some or all synthetic flavor. The New York Times was able to elaborate on this.
Apparently some of the more synthetically flavored oil is quite good–and may even be used in some finer restaurants. So what’s the bottom line? I love having a good local source, but I’d be eating Truffle Fries even if I had to buy off the internet! 
What type of potato should I use
The classic French Fry potato is the russet or Idaho potato. But I usually just have Yukon Gold potatoes around the house and these make fine fries as well. The smaller spuds won’t win any prizes for beautiful long fries, but are still tasty!
And as I mentioned, feel free to use prepared frozen fries if you prefer.
Tips & FAQs
You will want a to use very finely grated cheese on top of the fries so that it doesn’t clump. This can be accomplished by grating with a microplane if you have one. Otherwise you can simulate this by grating with a standard grater, then whizzing the grated cheese in a blender until very fine. 
If you really want to put the dish over the top, consider using a finely grated truffle cheese instead of Parmesan. Whenever I attend the annual American Cheese Society conference I usually come back with a wedge of truffle cheese, but a good local cheesemonger should be able to help you out as well.
If you are vegan, the only thing you will need a substitute for is the cheese. You can always go with a vegan cheese, but there are a couple other options as well. Since the umami component of the cheese is the desired component, some nutritional yeast (I’d probably pulse it very fine in a food processor) or a little miso paste might work as well. I haven’t tested either but if you give this a try let me know how it is!
Truffle Fries
Ingredients
- 6 Yukon gold potatoes see notes
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1-3 teaspoons truffle oil to taste, oil intensity & potato size vary
- ½ t truffle salt or to taste or sea salt
- 1/4 c finely grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Slice potatoes into fries. Set on a paper towel on a plate and microwave on the baked potato setting for 2-3 potatoes--you want them to be slightly undercooked. (see notes on frozen fries)
- When fries are almost tender, toss with olive oil, place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake in 425 F oven for 10-15 minutes until golden, stirring once or twice.
- When fries are tender and browned, push them into a pile (to avoid loss of truffle oil) then sprinkle with grated cheese, truffle oil and salt or truffle salt. Toss, then sprinkle with chopped parsley.
- Enjoy hot.
Mark is generally not a picky eater. Aside from not being a fan of sweet desserts (more for me!), he doesn’t like truffles. That makes me so sad… But again, more for me!
This sounds delicious and making a note to get truffle oil next time to try this fries.
What a terrific recipe! I’ve had truffle fries, but haven’t made them. I should! Like your method of making french fries too — the microwave idea is gold. Thanks!
This sounds so delish, you also reminded me to buy truffles too. I tried this pasta recipe on one of the food events here and they gave us dicounts on their truffle online store.
Not you have to go truffle shopping! I made a truffle finishing butter one time too.
We call these posh fries and I love them. This is such an informative post Inger.
Well that’s an appropriate name!
Ooooo…truffles fries!! I would want to eat the entire batch! I like your tip on par-cooking them in the microwave first 🙂
Yum, right! I microwave first for my breakfast potatoes too!