One of the things I like the most about being vegan, is that I’m forced to avoid McDonalds. It’s not just the lousy plastic-like food (that is engineered to make you want it no matter what, lovely crave in moments of intoxication), it’s what it stands for. The effect McDonalds has on global food industry, poverty, the environment, and on the way we grow vegetables to raise animals, on the mass standardization of food products in order to give us cheap burgers… So every self-imposed rule that keeps my money away from the golden arches is a blessed one.

Once living in Israel (and before being vegan) though, had quite some of McMeals. There, some nicer alternatives like fresh chopped Israeli salad, Whole-grain bun and the potato wedges, alongside the fact that I was constantly on the road with my work, made this option convenient and available. One thing I remember until today, that didn’t have the regular, industrialized, artificial McFlavor, was the potato wedges. Somehow, they were soft and tender, seasoned to perfection, and actually felt like real potatoes.

So I took a quest. To experiment until I could recreate them. The principle is quite basic: spiced oil and high heat. The oil will give the wedges a frying-like crunch. It is a lot of oil for baked potatoes, but still less than frying. But what can we do, sometimes for taste you have to sacrifice.

So the ingredients are (for 2 portions): 6 medium potatoes, sliced to wedges; 1/4 cup of oil seasoned with 1 tsp olive oil, 1 spoon paprika (sweet, spicy, smoked, or a mixture of all), 1 tsp turmeric, pinch of cumin, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Mix all the seasoning in a bowl with the oil, then add the wedges and mix well. Place on baking paper, in a way that the wedges won’t be on top of one another, so just one layer. Bake in a pre-heated oven on maximum heat (250 C) for around 20 minutes, until they are nice and crispy from the outside.