Nigella Lawson shares her top tip for making the perfect crispy fries without a trace of grease

Nigella Lawson shares her top tip for making the perfect crispy fries without a trace of grease – and it involves placing them in COLD oil to cook

  • Nigella Lawson, 60, shared her recipe for the perfect Tuscan fries on Instagram
  • She said the secret to oil-free fries is putting the raw potatoes into cold oil  
  • The British TV chef’s post racked up over 48,000 likes from impressed fans 

Nigella Lawson has revealed the hack she uses to achieve perfect oil-free fries every time – and fans claim the dish looks ‘divine’. 

Posting on Instagram, the British TV chef, 60, shared a photograph of her Tuscan fries as she revealed her unorthodox cooking method, which involves using cold oil.

She explained the trick is a ‘stress-free’ alternative to traditional methods of deep-frying potatoes.

‘You’d think it would make them unbearably greasy but in fact you end up with crisp, oil-free fries of utter fabulousness,’ Nigella wrote, admitting it seems ‘crazy’. 

Putting the potatoes in cold oil allows them to cook more slowly meaning the inside have a chance to become soft and fluffy while the outside crisps.  

British TV chef Nigella Lawson, 60, has impressed fans with her recipe for creating oil-free Tuscan fries (file image)

Nigella explained the method, which featured in her 2012 book Nigellissima, works by placing raw chipped potatoes into cold corn or vegetable oil, then bringing it to the boil and watching them bubble away for around 15 minutes.     

She listed a selection of ingredients for recreating the dish, including waxy potatoes and flavourless vegetable oil, with a few unpeeled cloves of garlic thrown into the oil towards the end of cooking for added flavour in an extract shared on her website. 

Nigella’s method of making Tuscan fries at home takes around 30 minutes and has impressed over 48,000 of her fans.

One person wrote: ‘They look amazing! Will be making these for sure.’

‘This is the best recipe for chips/fries,’ another said. 

A third added: ‘Wowsers they look incredible! I’ve never tries Tuscan fries before but will be now! Thank you for sharing.’

In an extract from her book, published in 2012, Nigella (pictured) revealed the importance of placing raw chipped potatoes into cold vegetable oil, then heating up

In an extract from her book, published in 2012, Nigella (pictured) revealed the importance of placing raw chipped potatoes into cold vegetable oil, then heating up 

Over 48,000 fans liked Nigella's Tuscan fries post on Instagram, with many gushing that the dish looks 'amazing'

Over 48,000 fans liked Nigella’s Tuscan fries post on Instagram, with many gushing that the dish looks ‘amazing’

Another commented: ‘They were a revelation for me. I have been making them at least once a month since I first tried.’

Nigella, who is set to release a new cookbook later this year, will be sharing a selection of other comfort food recipes on a new BBC2 series starting in October.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and Crab Mac ‘n’ Cheese are among the mouthwatering dishes that she’s expected to demonstrate across six episodes.

‘More than just a mantra, Cook, Eat, Repeat is the story of my life,’ Nigella said of the show which accompanies a book of the same title.