Spicy, Super-Crunchy Garlic Potato Wedges
By: Juno
Published: Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 9:30am

Ingredients




6 large potatoes, rinsed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml) ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 ml) mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground coriander
1 teaspoon (5 ml) chilli flakes [optional]
4 teaspoons (20 ml) chickpea flour [gram or channa flour]
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Preparation

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C. 2 Cut the unpeeled potatoes into slim, even wedges. 3 Put the wedges into a sealable microwave cooking bag, or a glass dish. 4 Add a single garlic clove, roughly sliced, and a good pinch of salt. 5 Close the bag's seal tightly (or cover with a lid). 6 Microwave for 6-8 minutes, on high, or until the wedges are just tender on the outside. 7 Allow to stand for a minute. 8 Pour the olive oil into the bag (or dish). 9 Crush the three remaining garlic cloves directly into the bag or dish. 10 Add the cumin, curry powder, coriander, chilli flakes and chickpea flour. 11 Reseal the bag and toss its contents around gently so that every wedge is completely coated. 12 Tip the wedges onto a baking sheet, making sure that they are skin-side down, and season with salt and pepper. 13 Bake at 200°C for 25-35 minutes, or until they are very crisp and golden. 14 Season with more salt, if necessary, and serve piping hot, in cones of newspaper.

About


Potato wedges are much loved by the teens in my house, who will happily eat them every day, and thank goodness for that, because they (the wedges, not the teens) are so easy to make and packed full of energy and nourishment.
On my quest for the perfect wedge, fluffy on the inside, rustly and super-crunchy without, I have found that they do need to be parboiled first.  But what a ball-ache it is to wait for a pot of water to boil! So when I spotted a packet of sturdy, ziplocking microwave steaming bags in my supermarket, I decided to try a new method.
(If you don't hold with microwave ovens, for whatever reason - don't get me started on that subject! - feel free to parboil the wedges in the normal way, or, if plastic is your bugbear, use a lidded glass dish to microwave the spuds.)
For ultra-crunchiness, I tossed the wedges in channa (chickpea) flour and some mild aromatic spices. You can find chickpea flour in Indian supermarkets or spice shops. (If you're in a real hurry, and live in South Africa, use Pakco Chilli-Bite Mix in place of the spices and channa flour; that is what I used the first time I made these). Or use any herbs and spices of your choice.
These wedges stay crunchy for hours after they've come out of the oven, and don't turn leathery, as wedges that have not been parcooked tend to do.
These wedges are delicious with a smoky red pepper dip, or with a creamy sauce made of a third Hellman's mayonnaise and two-thirds thick Greek yoghurt, mixed together with a little crushed garlic and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.