Oven chips with cardamom mayonnaise
To my mind, nothing beats mayonnaise as a chip sauce. Here, I’ve combined it with (optional) curry leaves and cardamom, and tossed the chips themselves in lime salt, so you end up with a potato experience that’s rich, warm, sharp and creamy all at the same time. The mayonnaise will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks, so double the quantities and transform your next sandwich.
Prep
15 mins
Infuse
30 mins
Cook
45 mins
Serving size
4 as a side
Ingredients
14 cardamom pods, crushed, pods discarded and seeds blitzed in a spice grinder (or finely crushed in a mortar)
165ml sunflower oil
30 fresh curry leaves, 10 left whole, the rest blitzed in a spice grinder (or finely chopped) – optional
1 egg yolk
½ small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
4 limes – zest of 2-3 finely grated, to get 1½ tbsp; juiced, to get 1 tbsp juice, and the rest cut into wedges, to serve
Flaked sea salt
1kg maris piper potatoes, skin on and cut into 1cm-thick chips
Method
1. Put the crushed cardamom seeds and blitzed curry leaves, if using, in a small saucepan and dry fry on a high heat for a minute, until fragrant. Add 120ml oil, heat for 30 seconds more, then add the whole curry leaves, if using, and gently fry until crisp – about a minute. Take the pan off the heat, lift out the whole curry leaves with a slotted spoon and set aside – you’ll be using these as a garnish later. Leave the oil and remaining solids to infuse for 30 minutes, until completely cool, then set aside a tablespoon of the oil (along with some of the aromatics) and strain the rest into a jug; discard the solids left in the sieve.
2. Put the egg yolk, garlic, half the lime juice and a quarter-teaspoon of flaked sea salt in the small bowl of a food processor and blitz to combine. With the motor still running, start adding the cooled oil very slowly and in a very thin stream, until the mixture emulsifies and thickens into a mayonnaise.
3. Transfer the mayonnaise to a small bowl then stir in the remaining teaspoon of lime juice, to thin it out a little. If the mayo splits (or gets too thick), whisk in a teaspoon of water until it emulsifies again (or loosens).
4. Heat the oven to 220C (200C fan)/425F/gas 7. While the infused oil is cooling down, spread out the chips on an oven tray lined with greaseproof paper and toss with the remaining three tablespoons of oil and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt. Bake the chips for 20 minutes, then turn them over and bake for 15 minutes more, until they’re cooked through and nicely golden brown.
5. Mix the lime zest with half a tablespoon of flaked sea salt, gently crushing it all together. Scatter the lime salt over the hot chips, toss to coat, then transfer to a platter. Drizzle over the mayonnaise and the reserved tablespoon of infused oil, top with the crisp curry leaves, if using, and serve hot with the lime wedges on the side.
