Scrub and dry the potatoes. Give the sweet potatoes a good scrub under cold running water — the skins are where a lot of the fibre and flavour live, so leave them on. Pat them completely dry with a clean tea towel. Any surface water will steam rather than roast, and wet wedges never crisp. The skins should feel matte and slightly rough when you're done.

Cut into even wedges. Trim the pointy ends, then halve each potato lengthways. Cut each half into wedges roughly 2 cm thick at the widest point. Aim for consistency over perfection — if a wedge looks noticeably fatter than the rest, slice it in half again. You should end up with 24–30 wedges from 900 g of potato.

Soak if you have time. If you've got ten spare minutes, drop the wedges into a bowl of cold water. This rinses away surface starch, which is what makes wedges go limp and gluey in the air fryer. Drain and dry them thoroughly afterwards — this step is optional but it genuinely improves the texture.

Toss with oil and cornflour. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, smoked paprika, garlic granules, cumin, oregano, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Add the dry wedges and toss until every piece is evenly coated — they should look glossy and slightly darkened by the spices. Sprinkle over the cornflour and toss again. The wedges will feel faintly powdery, which is exactly what you want.

Preheat the air fryer. Set your air fryer to 200°C (400°F) and let it run empty for 3 minutes. This is non-negotiable in my kitchen — a hot basket gives you that immediate sizzle and stops the wedges from sticking. You'll hear a faint hum and feel warmth radiating when you open the drawer.

Arrange in a single layer. Tip the wedges into the basket and spread them out so they sit in one layer with a little breathing room. It's fine if they touch slightly at the edges, but they shouldn't be piled up. If your air fryer is on the smaller side, cook in two batches — I promise it's worth the extra few minutes.

Air fry for 8 minutes, then shake. Cook at 200°C for 8 minutes. Pull the drawer out and give it a firm shake so the wedges tumble and turn. At this stage they'll be pale orange with darker patches forming at the tips, and the kitchen will smell warmly of paprika and garlic.

Cook for a further 6–8 minutes. Return to the air fryer and cook until the edges are deeply caramelised and the thinner tips have gone slightly crisp and curled. You're looking for a rich reddish-brown colour at the corners and a wedge that yields easily when pierced with a knife but still holds its shape.

Rest for 2 minutes. Tip the wedges onto a warm plate and leave them for two minutes before serving. They'll finish cooking through in their own residual heat, and the exteriors firm up into a proper crust. Scatter with flaky salt, thyme, and parsley, then squeeze over a little lemon.