Beet chips

As previously mentioned, we have had beets coming out of our ears lately from our CSA box. I really like beets, but I’ve been trying to be a bit more creative about how to use them this year since we have so many this year. I tried beet kvass, which turned out to be too disgusting even with its renowned health benefits. We still have a full jar in the fridge if anyone wants some. I keep thinking I’ll work up the courage to try it again.

Then last week, I tried beet chips. I rarely buy them because they’re pricey, but I love those baked veggie chips that you can get at the store with all kinds of baked root vegetables. I was craving them and thought I would try some for myself to use up some beets. What a tasty treat!

Ingredients
Beets
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Cut off tops of beets and slice very thinly. A mandolin would come in handy here if you have one, but I just used a knife. You could peel the beets if you don’t like the skin, but I left it on because I was lazy.
3. My mom got me one of these when I first got of college. It is genius! I hate those aerosol spray cans because of the environmental impact and the number of syllables in the ingredients list. I’ve seen inexpensive versions elsewhere too. So for this project, I used my sprayer filled with EVOO and lightly sprayed a baking sheet. Then I laid the beet slices across the pan, sprayed them lightly with more EVOO, and then sprinkled sea salt over the top.
4. Bake at 325 for 30 – 35 minutes, flipping the beets at about the halfway point.

My plan was to make a batch of these (I used four medium-sized beets) and eat them over the next few days for lunch. Instead, Jasper and I had them devoured by bedtime that night. Now I’m wishing I had another big delivery of beets!