December 20

A few weeks ago, I made a pretty horrendous dinner. Half of it was literally inedible and the other half was a huge plate of mushy sweet potato wedges. While it was edible, it was not great. The potatoes had gone to mush and were pretty burnt on the outside. Slathered in mayonnaise and ketchup, they were barely passable. That is when I realized that it would be good to have a nice, fail safe recipe for sweet potato wedges in my back pocket, moving forward.

I always forget about sweet potatoes in the summer months, but when winter squashes start to take up the majority of the shelves of the supermarket, it’s impossible to ignore the allure of the potatoes. I don’t use them in much else, but they are a great side dish. While you can certainly bake them whole or mash them, I think these sweet potato wedges are my favourite. I started making them a few years ago when I found Smitten Kitchen’s recipe.

These wedges are a simple, slightly spicy version. When I make wedges, I often get lazy and try to drizzle the oil and sprinkle the spices directly over the potatoes already laid out on the baking tray. This is a bad idea. It’s best to dirty a bowl and toss everything together. The remoulade, that I originally conjured up for these fried okra go perfectly with the wedges, but feel free to use whatever sauce you like the best. These wedges get slightly charred on the outside and are completely tender on the inside. Make sure to check them towards the end of the baking and take them out before they get too soft- it happens quickly. Personally, I can just eat a whole bowl of these as a very substantial snack or a very unsubstantial dinner.