South America → Argentina → Mendoza
🥔 SIDE
Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries)
Golden fried potato batons tossed while still hot with raw chopped garlic and parsley, the provenzal mix Argentines put beside milanesas and grilled steak.
Argentine · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~335 cal · 5g protein · 44g carbs · 15g fat · 6g fiber · 2g sugars · 2g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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In Argentina, a la provenzal means one thing: finely chopped garlic and parsley, thrown over something hot. It goes on chicken, on steak, on mussels and above all on potatoes, and a plate of papas fritas a la provenzal is one of the standard sides of the country's home cooking and grill houses, next to a milanesa, a bife or a burger.
The method is simple. The potatoes are cut, dried well and fried until golden and crisp outside and soft inside, and then, while they are still very hot, they are tossed with the garlic and parsley, sometimes in a pan with a spoonful of oil for a few seconds, so the heat takes the edge off the raw garlic and releases its smell. Salt goes on at the end.
Use floury or all-purpose potatoes, fresh flat-leaf parsley and plenty of garlic. The garlic stays almost raw, which is the point.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
- 1 kg floury or all-purpose potatoes
- 1 l vegetable oil, for frying
- 3 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
- 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- to taste salt
Instructions
- 1Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons about 1 cm thick. Rinse in cold water and dry them very well on a clean cloth.✎ Chef’s noteWet potatoes spit in the oil and never crisp; take the time to dry them.
- 2Mix the garlic and parsley in a small bowl.
- 3Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 170 to 180C (340 to 350F). Fry the potatoes in batches for 8 to 10 minutes each, until golden and crisp, and drain on paper.
- 4Warm the olive oil in a wide frying pan over low heat, tip in the hot potatoes and the garlic and parsley, and toss for about 1 minute, just until the garlic smells sweet. Do not let it brown.
- 5Salt and serve at once, with a milanesa, a steak or grilled meat.
Argentine home and bodegón tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Mendoza. Mendoza is a desert that receives about two hundred millimetres of rain a year, and everything green in it is irrigated. The acequia canals that carry Andean snowmelt were built by the Huarpe before the Spanish arrived in 1561 and were simply adopted and extended; the irrigated oases cover a few per cent of the province and hold nearly all its people and all its agriculture.
🗺️
Argentina. Dulce de leche's origin is disputed between Argentina and Uruguay, with a French confiture de lait documented earlier than either national legend, so it is best described as a shared and argued-over sweet. Mate is shared too, drunk across Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil, and passed round one gourd and one metal straw at a time.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Argentina
Empanadas MendocinasBaked empanadas the Mendoza way: a juicy beef and olive filling heavy on onion, sealed with a braided edge.
LocroThe thick national stew of white hominy, beans, and squash slow simmered with beef, pork, and chorizo, finished with a spicy paprika oil.
ChoripánA grilled fresh chorizo split and tucked into crusty bread with a generous spoon of garlicky chimichurri, the opening act of every asado.
Browse all Argentina recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Skillet or frying pan.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it an Argentina meal
Yerba MateDrink
Alfajores de MaicenaDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries)?
Golden fried potato batons tossed while still hot with raw chopped garlic and parsley, the provenzal mix Argentines put beside milanesas and grilled steak.
Where does Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries) come from?
Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries) is an Argentine dish from Mendoza, Argentina.
Can Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Papas a la Provenzal (Argentine Garlic and Parsley Fries) take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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