Unfried Crispy Potato Wedges + What’s in our hands

WHAT’S IN OUR HANDS

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Every once in a while, I’m reminded of how cooking is so similar to life.

There are days that I open the kitchen cupboard wide and peer at the bareness of them; an emptiness which leaves behind a hole so black and dark, I can’t help but close the cupboards. And maybe because it’s late and the shops have already closed, I have no choice but to open the cabinets again, hoping there remains something of substance in the darkness.

That’s what we do when life presents us with situations like these – we take a fresh new look at what we thought we had (or did not have); we search once more for what we used to know and relied on; we stare hard at the little that we have in our hands, and we make do with it.

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UNFRIED CRISPY POTATO WEDGES

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And so, on one of those bare-kitchen nights, I was digging around my cupboards when I found myself with just four large potatoes, whose skins were still dark with the dirt from which they had been pulled. Uneven, dirty ovals who were almost sprouting because of the time they’d been left there, these potatoes were hardly the most appealing of ingredients.

But, as in many circumstances of life, there sometimes aren’t many options to choose from. And between going hungry or eating potatoes, I’d rather eat potatoes all my life.

I’d been keen on experimenting a new method of cooking potatoes I had found on Rock Recipes, one in which results in the potatoes looking like crispy fries when in fact they’d been baked in the oven.

So with these humble potatoes in my hands, I set out peeling them, until all the dirt and almost-sprouts had been removed.

I like my potato wedges chunky and thick, uneven and unique. So with my knife in hand, I cut them in any way I fancied.

While cooking potatotes may sound like a toddler’s task, I’ve realized that not all potato wedges come out cooked the same.

According to this new recipe, the secret in creating a crispy potato wedge was to boil the potatoes in generously salted water for a couple of minutes before baking them in the oven. That’s the little trick that many people don’t know about.

Once partially-cooked in the salted water, the potatoes go straight into the oven after being tossed in salt and pepper. Leave them to roast, and they eventually come out beautifully golden and crispy.

So crispy that you can hear the crunch when you bite into them.

If you have some cream cheese and some chopped spring onions at hand, I recommend that you mix them together to form a dip.

I assure you that the combination of both cream cheese and spring onions will elevate these crispy potatoes by several notches.

Imagine this – golden and crispy on the outside, and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside.

They’re so, sooo, good.

UNFRIED CRISPY POTATO WEDGES (Serves 4 as a side)
Adapted from Rock Recipes’ Unfried Crsipy Wedge Fries

Ingredients:

1) 4 large potatoes (or 1 large potato per person)
2) 3-4 tablespoons of cooking oil
3) Salt and pepper to taste
4) 100g of cream cheese
5) 1/2 cup of chopped spring onions

Steps:

1) Wash and peel potatoes, then cut them roughly into thick wedges
2) Pre-heat oven to about 200 deg cel
3) Set about 1 liter of generously-salted water to boil
4) Once water starts boiling, drop potato wedges into boiling water and let them cook for about 3-5 minutes
5) While potatoes are cooking, pour cooking oil over an oven-safe tray (make sure oil covers entire base of tray) and heat oil in pre-heated oven
6) After potatoes have cooked for about 3-5 minutes, immediately drain the water off
7) Toss partially-cooked potato wedges in salt and pepper
8) Place potato wedges in the oven-safe tray (previously pre-heated)
9) Bake for about 45 minutes, turning them over about half-way through the time. Remove from oven once wedges are crispy and golden
10) Sprinkle with salt to taste and serve

Wash and peel potatoes:

Cut potatoes roughly into thick, uneven wedges:

Set about 1 liter of generously-salted water to boil:

Once water starts boiling, drop potato wedges into boiling water and let them cook for about 3-5 minutes:

After potatoes have cooked for about 3-5 minutes, immediately drain the water off, and toss partially-cooked potato wedges in salt and pepper:

Place potato wedges in the oil-coated oven-safe tray (previously pre-heated):

Bake for about 45 minutes, turning them over about half-way through the time. Remove from oven once wedges are crispy and golden:

Sprinkle with salt to taste and serve with mixture of cream cheese and chopped spring onions: