Beet Chips

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It's rainy and dreary here today. I'm not complaining...we need the rain and Lord knows we are blessed with gorgeous weather here most days. But, when I saw these pretty little golden beets next to their ruby colored kinfolk at the farmer's market this morning, I bought them just because they cheered me up. Hey, if a root vegetable can cheer you up, it deserves some attention, right?!

I'll be honest with you...I'm not a huge beet fan. They're ok. But I recently came across this recipe and just the sheer beauty of the sliced beets made me want to try it. And then I tasted them. YUM! They actually taste a lot like potato chips, but with a little more umph. They taste nothing like beets. Apparently you can buy a tiny bag of beet chips at Whole Foods for $6. These cost much less. Another bonus--my kids loved them. They're high in potassium and folic acid, so eat up!

First, peel and slice the beets really thin. You'll need some seriously stellar knife skills, or, better yet, a mandoline in order to get them super thin.

So pretty...I want to make jewelry out of them or something!

Next, toss the beets with just a bit of olive oil.

Lay them in a single layer (important) on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with just a touch of sea salt.  Place another baking sheet on top (this keeps them from curling up as they bake.) Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove the top sheet and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

When they're done, they'll start to lighten up a bit in color.

Cool them on wire racks. They'll get nice and crispy and snackalicious!

Beet Chips

4 Medium Beets
2 tsp olive oil
sprinkling of sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice the beets about 1/16" thick (use a mandoline for the best results)
2. Toss with olive oil, making sure each slice is coated and lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with just a touch of sea salt. Cover with another baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the top sheet and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until the beets start to turn a lighter shade and get crispy (watch them carefully so they don't burn).
3. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Note: To speed up the process, once the first batch had been in the oven for 20 minutes, I removed the top baking sheet, put the 2nd batch of beets on and placed it under the first baking sheet in the oven so I always had 2 batches going at once. I had to pay special attention to the timing, but rotating the baking sheets this way cut down on the overall time it took to bake the entire batch. Hope that makes sense! Pin It