These 3-ingredient air fryer sweet potato wedges are a quick, easy and healthy snack. They are inspired by the popular Guinean food patates, or fried sweet potato.
Overview of Guinea
Sweet potato wedges are most likely not a food you’d associate with African cuisine. Believe it or not, they are one of the most popular foods in Guinea, a nation on the coast of West Africa. Guinea has been blessed with natural resources and rich agricultural land. The diversity of the climate and land in Guinea means that each part of the country produces a different set of crops.
History of Guinean Cuisine
Despite French colonization for around 60 years, Guinean cuisine has remained fairly traditional throughout history. Corn is a staple throughout the country, although each region of Guinea will have a different way of integrating this staple into their meals. Most Guinean food include rice and sauce, often with served with some kind of meat. In rural areas, food is served in a large communal dish and eaten by hand.
Popular Guinean Food
- Patates– Sweet potato is cut into wedges, seasoned with salt and fried
- Fried plantain– Plantain is cut and fried and served as a side dish
- FouFou– A starchy, dough-like ball made of cassava flour
- Footi– A sauce made with eggplants, onions, kidney beans, tomato and stock, often served with rice
- Konkoé– A traditional Guinea food made of smoked catfish and vegetables simmered to form a stew
Making Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
In Guinea, sweet potatoes are far more commonly grown than normal potatoes. This is why you’ll find fried sweet potato wedges are eaten over regular potato wedges or fries. Fried sweet potato is known as patates in Guinean cuisine (although this confusingly just translates to potato in French).
Typically in Guinea, sweet potato is cut into wedges, seasoned with salt, then fried in hot oil until crisp and deep orange in colour. Today, we are making a slightly healthy take on patates by air frying sweet potato wedges instead of deep-frying them. The wedge still go golden and crisp on the outside, minus the excess oiliness.
How to Air Fry Sweet Potato Wedges
- Preheat airfryer to 175˚C (350˚F) for 5 minutes. Prepare sweet potato wedges by cutting off each end and slicing into thick wedges.
- In a large bowl, toss sweet potato wedges with oil of choice, flaked sea salt and any other seasoning you want to add.
- Arrange sweet potato wedges in a single layer in air fryer basket, being careful not to overlap any pieces. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in multiple batches.
- Cook for 8 minutes, then flip over wedges and cook for another 4 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.
Ingredients for Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
- Sweet potatoes- Make sure you get large orange sweet potatoes so you can easily cut them into large wedges
- Flaked sea salt- I’d recommend using high-quality flaked sea salt for best results
- Oil– You can use whatever oil you have on hand- I’d recommend rice bran oil or a light olive oil
Serving suggestions for Air Fried Sweet Potato Wedges
You can serve these air fried sweet potato wedges as a side dish or as a snack with sauce. Typically in Guinea, patates are served with an oily sauce made from tomatoes, onions, and fish sauce. Personally, I love these with this garlic sauce recipe!
Other sweet potato dishes to try
- Vegan Costa Rica Tamales Recipe Made with Sweet Potato and Black Bean
- Daraba Recipe: Creamy Peanut Vegetable Stew from Chad
Air Fryer Sweet Potato Wedges
These 3-ingredient air fryer sweet potato wedges are a quick, easy and healthy snack. They are inspired by the popular Guinean food patates, or fried sweet potato.
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat airfryer to 175˚C (350˚F) for 5 minutes. Prepare sweet potato wedges by cutting off each end and slicing into thick wedges.
- In a large bowl, toss sweet potato wedges with oil of choice, flaked sea salt and any other seasoning you want to add.
- Arrange sweet potato wedges in a single layer in air fryer basket, being careful not to overlap any pieces. Depending on the size of your air fryer, you may need to do this in multiple batches.
- Cook for 8 minutes, then flip over wedges and cook for another 4 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.
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