PixieCooks

I’ve given up chips (fries) and crisps (chips) for Lent (again), but I’ve decided that these are distinctly more potatoey than anything else and therefore don’t count.

They take spice very well, but too much powdered spice will burn, so go a bit canny if you use it instead of the lemon pepper suggested here. I’ve had great success with smoked paprika and cumin seed, garlic salt and chilli flakes, and rosemary and thyme.

Ingredients

• Appropriate quantities of potato for the numbers you wish to feed (I’ve used all kinds of potato from King Edward to Jersey Royals with great success)
• Vegetable/Groundnut/Sunflower oil
• Freshly Ground Black Peppercorns to taste (a rough grinding – if your mill turns them to powder, grind in a mortar and pestle instead)
• Lemon rind to taste

Method
Scrub the potatoes clean and cut out any eyes or nasty bits (life is too short to peel a potato and all the good bits are in the skin, anyway) then chop lengthways into chunky wedges.

Put the wedges in a pot of cold, salted water (as a rough guide, if it comes out of the ground, put it in cold water, if it comes from above the ground, put it in boiling water) and bring to the boil. Boil for about five minutes – the wedges should yield easily to a knife point but remain intact (or intact ish. Any roughened edges will crisp up and be yummy…).

Use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove the lemon rind in fingernail sized pieces (use an unwaxed lemon for preference) and be careful not to get the bitter white pith with the rind.

Drain the potatoes well and put into a bag with sufficient oil to lightly coat all the wedges, and the seasonings. They can be left in this bag, in the fridge, up to overnight if you want.

Pre-heat the oven to 200C (180c Fan assisted/F/Gas Mark), put the wedges on a baking tray and cook in the oven for twenty minutes, turning after 10minutes.

The wedges should be crispy and beginning to caramelise a little bit. Serve with fish, chicken or anywhere you would chips.