Vegetable Chips
Quick and healthy homemade vegetable chips: these are so easy to make and taste so much better than anything frozen. You can use a mix of root vegetables: sweet potatoes, white potatoes, parsnips, carrots, courgettes, experiment with whatever combination you like. The key is to cut all the vegetables into similar sizes, so they cook evenly. You can roast them simply with olive oil, but I have also included my favourite spice/ herb combinations, that we love to eat as a family. These work brilliantly for bigger children and add another layer of flavour.
These work as a side dish for so many meals: or they make a great snack with a yogurt and cucumber dip. If I have leftovers I add them to wraps or toasted quesadillas with a little cheese. They are an easy and delicious way of getting more vegetables into your weekly meal plans.
For my son George I make these as finger foods; so I recommend for children that like to eat independently (or, a baby led weaning approach).
master recipe ~
vegetables: sweet potatoes, white potatoes, parsnips, carrots, courgettes
1 tablespoon olive oil (for every 160g of vegetables = 2 small sweet potato for example)
a little freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Wash the vegetables, you can scrub the skins or peel the vegetables, whichever you prefer. Cut the vegetables into chips, trying to make the chips roughly the same size. Add them to a mixing bowl and coat the chips evenly in the olive oil, season with black pepper
Spread the chips evenly on baking trays: don't crowd the vegetables they will roast better if they are well spaced out. It is better to use several trays than trying to cram too many vegetables on one tray. Depending on the thickness of the chips this will take between 20-30 mins.
The chips should be cooked through and starting to caramelise. Drain on a little kitchen paper, to remove any excess oil. Serve warm from the oven
My favourite flavour combinations
(for the more adventurous eaters) ~
x2 sweet potatoes + 1 tablespoon oil + 1 teaspoon sumac
x2 parsnip + 1 tablespoon oil + 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves + 1/2 lemon zest only
x2 medium courgette + 1 tablespoon oil + 1 tablespoon polenta + 1/2 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan
x4 medium carrots + 1 tablespoon oil + 1/2 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
2 medium potatoes+ 1 tablespoon oil + 1/2 tablespoon ground paprika + 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves