There was a restaurant in Kits, it’s long gone now, I was so hooked on their sweet potato fries I was convinced they put something in them.

The rest of the food was subpar at best; nonetheless, we practically hung out there every Friday night for those crispy and salty sweet caramelized fries.

Served with a bright peppery aioli with hints of tomato and rosemary, they weren’t like anything I’d had before.

I didn’t go back for few months and then I heard the restaurant had closed, I wish I’d asked for the recipe, but I wasn’t much of a home cook back then.

Sometimes I wonder if my idealist brain has created a far more impeccable sweet potato fry than the actual fries were, which is why none other has come close.

Now I always order sweet potatoes fries if it’s on the menu at a bar or restaurant… comparing and judging and chasing that illusive perfect crispy soft-inside savoury sweet taste.

And then other day I started this quest of creating my own perfect sweet potato fries, the one to knock the other off the pedestal – I don’t know if we’re quite there yet, but these baked sweet potato wedges are a pleasing start.

Sweet delicate wedges with a bit of crunch, tender on the inside and a touch of tomato and rosemary – it’s my little cheer for this lengthy winter we can’t seem to shake.

I used garnet yams for this recipe, which in fact are sweet potatoes and technically not ‘yams’ – these are sweeter and richer in colour than the classic sweet potato, also rich in beta-carotene (vitamin A), and a good source of other excellent vitamins and dietary fiber.

These potatoes are versatile and probably one of the easiest things to make; I cut them thinner sometimes and change up the spices – they make a great side or snack, and are surprisingly very filling, and of course slightly addictive.

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Baked Sweet Potato Wedges

INGREDIENTS

• 3 large garnet yams or sweet potatoes, cut into about 1/2 thick wedges
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt, or more to taste
• 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 3 – 4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon garlic powder)
• 1 tablespoon rosemary (about 1 sprig)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, I like mine hot!)
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F., and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper (oil lightly if using foil)
2. Toss the potatoes in a bowl with the coarse salt and set aside
3. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, tomato paste, garlic, rosemary, cumin, cayenne pepper and salt, mix well to combine
4. Pour mixture over the potatoes and toss until potatoes are evenly coated
5. Place potatoes in a single layer on lined baking sheet
6. Roast for 15 minutes, check and flip them over, and cook them again for another 10 minutes or until they’re cooked through and a toothpick slips in easily
7. Remove from oven and serve with freshly ground black pepper
8. Enjoy!

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