Perfect Parsnip Chips (GF, primal, vegan, allergen free)

2012 June 28

I really miss snacking on a salty crunchy carb. There are days, I will admit, I totally pine for potatoes but secretly wonder if there might be a (slightly) healthier alternative?

I’ve tried baking beets and sweet potato chips- but they just aren’t that pale crunchy potato-y treat. (sidebar- I so totally know potato-y isn’t a word. lol) — Parsnips, however. Parsnips are another ballgame altogether. They are nowhere near the same flavour of beet chips or sweet potato chips. They are so, so much better.

I’m thinking I have to try this method on yucca, on cassava, and heck, even on plantains!

These chips are crispy, light, and just about as close to potato-y as you can get- so if you are a Nightshade-free person, you are in some serious luck!

I’ve discovered there is a trick to making these. Thanks to Martha Stewart’s method, your chips can now be pretty, and fairly evenly cooked!

MyRealFoodLife.com

Spicy Parsnip Chips

Ingredients

2 big parsnips (get them as fat as you can- they shrink so you want a good sized chip)
several tablespoons of olive oil
tabasco sauce (if you want them spicy)
toasted sesame oil (for additional flavour)

Directions

Wash and dry your parsnips. Don’t peel them- the skins help prevent the edges from burning too fast.
Slice the parsnips using a mandoline, or your food processor. You want thin, evenly sliced rounds.
Very sparingly, rub a little olive oil on each slice, and lay on a cookie sheet without overlapping. Sprinkle the tabasco sauce and a touch of sesame oil for a little kick, and sprinkle salt/pepper on the slices. (the less oil, the better they bake. you could even try them oil free)
Lay over top your parsnips a second cookie sheet (make sure it fits the bottom sheet). This presses them down and makes them crispier.
Bake for 20 min at 350. At the 10 min mark, rotate your cookie sheet.
After 20 min, remove the top cookie sheet, and continue baking 10-20 min. Careful- they burn easily!
Remove and let cool on a wire rack- they get crispier as they cool. NOTE: if they are still bendy, microwave them in small batches, 2 minutes at a time (make sure the centre ones don’t burn!). I noticed the microwave fixed all ‘bendy’ issues very well :)
YUM :)