By Noah's long-form piece on food sovereignty was published this week and it is very good. Not "good for a twenty-five-year-old" good, not "shows promise" good — genuinely, substantively good. He sent me the link and I read it twice and then read it a third time with a pencil making notes not because I was going to offer feedback but because that's how I read something I want to fully understand. Gary read it after dinner and said: "He found his subject." Which is, from Gary, the most precise and generous thing he could have said.
The piece runs six thousand words and makes an argument I won't try to summarize because it would flatten it, but broadly it is about who controls the narrative of what regional food means and what is lost when that narrative is determined by outside forces rather than the people whose food it is. It is reported journalism and personal essay at once, which is a hard thing to do. Noah does it.
I called him after I finished reading. He answered on the second ring, which meant he was waiting. I told him what I thought and I tried to be specific rather than just loving, because he deserves specific. He asked if the structural argument in the third section was clear enough and I said yes, and that was the only feedback question he asked. The rest of the call was about other things: his apartment, a recipe he'd been working on, whether I thought he should get a dog. (I said: only if you want a dog, not as a companion for a dog.) He said he was already leaning yes. This does not surprise me.
I saved the piece to a folder on my computer where I keep things I want to return to. I have been doing this for twenty-three years and the folder is called, simply, "Keep." Noah's piece is in it. His first published story is in it. His first attempt at a recipe column, from when he was nineteen and doing it because I suggested it and he was game. The whole arc of it. What a privilege to have watched.
Noah mentioned on the phone that he’d been working on a recipe — and I didn’t ask which one, because it didn’t matter. What I kept thinking about afterward was his first recipe column at nineteen, the one I suggested and he attempted with such earnest effort, and how mastery always starts somewhere elemental. That night I made these seasoned oven fries, the kind of recipe that looks almost too simple to bother writing down but rewards you every single time. There is something right about marking a day like this with food that is exactly what it says it is, no more and no less.
Seasoned Oven Fries
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes (about 2 lbs), scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat. Place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 425°F. Letting the pan heat while the oven comes to temperature helps the fries crisp on contact.
- Cut the potatoes. Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick planks, then cut each plank into 1/2-inch sticks. Try to keep them uniform so they cook evenly. No need to peel.
- Season. In a large bowl, toss the potato sticks with the olive oil until evenly coated. Add the garlic powder, paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne if using. Toss again until every piece is well seasoned.
- Arrange on the pan. Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven. Spread the fries in a single layer with space between them — crowding causes steaming rather than crisping. Use two pans if needed.
- Roast. Bake for 20 minutes, then flip each fry with a spatula. Return to the oven and bake an additional 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp at the edges.
- Finish and serve. Transfer to a serving platter, taste for salt, and scatter with chopped parsley if you like. Serve immediately.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 215 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 35g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 310mg