Province where chips the local staple? (9)

I believe the answer is:

friesland

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'province' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'chips the local staple?' is the wordplay.
'chips' becomes 'fries' (I've seen this before).
'the local staple?' becomes 'land' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'fries'+'land'='FRIESLAND'

'where' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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