How To: Homemade Garlic Parmesan Chips
With an active family of five, snack time is a very popular time in my house. And I am always on the hunt for fun and healthy snack options to keep us all satisfied. Making my own chips at home lets me control the ingredients like oil and salt and I can let my imagination run wild with other seasonings and flavors. I can also go beyond the basic potato chip and try out other vegetables like zucchini, eggplant and sweet potato. They make a great healthy appetizer or party snack too.
The adjustable ExactSlice™ feature on the KitchenAid® 13-Cup Food Processor helps slice vegetables thinly and evenly and is perfect for making homemade chips. The external lever allows me to choose the desired thickness easily, without having to mess around with different slicing discs. I certainly couldn’t get my slices so perfect with a knife – believe me, I’ve tried. And the 3-in-1 Ultra Wide Mouth™ feed tube allows me to slice vegetables of any shape or size.
When making your own chips, it’s important to remember that the moisture content of different vegetables varies a great deal. High moisture vegetables, like zucchini or eggplant, should be baked in a low temperature oven for a long period of time to dry out. Potatoes and sweet potatoes tend to crisp up better when baked for a shorter time at a higher temperature.
For this recipe, I made chips with red-skinned potatoes, sweet potatoes and zucchini. I seasoned them all with parmesan and garlic and they were a huge hit, especially with my kids. So put your chips on the table and let’s get slicing.
Wash and trim your vegetables as desired. I peeled the tough skin from the sweet potatoes but left the skin on the red potatoes and the zucchini.
Fit the KitchenAid® 13-Cup Food Processor with the slicing disc and set the ExactSlice™ lever to the desired thickness. I found that putting the external lever to Thin or one notch above Thin worked well for vegetable and potato chips.
Choose the chute of the 3-in-1 Ultra Wide Mouth™ feeding tube that fits the vegetable best and turn the processor to low speed. Maintain a steady medium pressure on the veggies for even slices. For the sweet potatoes, make sure you don’t press too hard or your slices will be too thick.
The zucchini slices need to be salted and drained, then patted dry, to remove excess moisture before baking. The potato and sweet potato slices should be placed in cold water for a few moments to remove excess starch.
Season the vegetables as desired and arrange them in a single layer on prepared baking sheets. Then bake until they are golden and crisp. For potatoes and sweet potatoes, 400 degrees F for 15 to 30 minutes works best. For higher moisture veggies like zucchini, baking them slowly at 250 degrees F helps them crisp up.
Remove the chips from the oven, add additional salt or seasonings as desired, and enjoy!
How To: Homemade Garlic Parmesan Chips
Makes 4-6 servings INGREDIENTS For the potato and sweet potato chips 1/4 cup olive oil, divided 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 2 medium red-skinned potatoes, washed 2 medium sweet potatoes, washed and skinned 1 cup grated parmesan Additional Kosher salt to taste For the zucchini chips 2 medium zucchini, washed and trimmed 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 cup grated parmesan Kosher salt to taste DIRECTIONS For the potato and sweet potato chips Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and brush two large rimmed baking sheets with 1 tablespoon olive oil each. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine the remaining olive oil with the melted butter, salt and garlic powder. Set aside. Fill another large bowl with cold water. Fit the KitchenAid® 13-Cup Food Processor with the slicing disc and set the external slicing control to one notch above Thin. Place one potato or sweet potato into the 3-in-1 feed tube (use whichever tube fits your potatoes best). Use the food pusher to press against surface of slicing disc. Turn the processor on low, keeping up a medium amount of pressure on the potato for even 1/8-inch slices. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. Transfer the potato slices to the bowl with cold water and stir for a few minutes to remove excess starch. Lay flat on paper towels and blot dry with more paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible. Transfer to the bowl with olive oil mixture and toss to coat well. Lay the potato slices out in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets, regular potatoes on one sheet and sweet potatoes on the other. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until golden brown and crisp. Start checking at 15 minutes and remove any chips that are done; set them to dry on a cooling rack. Continue to cook any chips that need more time, until all are done to your liking. Sweet potatoes may take a little more time to crisp up. After removing all the red-skinned potatoes, you can turn off the oven, put the sweet potato slices back in, and prop oven door open with the handle of a wooden spoon to let them continue to crisp. For the zucchini chips Fit the KitchenAid® 13-Cup Food Processor with the slicing disc and set the external slicing control to one notch above Thin. Use the food pusher to press the end of the zucchini firmly against the slicing disc. Turn the processor on low, keeping up a constant pressure on the zucchini for even 1/8 inch slices. Repeat with the other zucchini. Place the zucchini slices in a sieve in the sink or over a bowl. Salt the zucchini slices and toss to combine, to help remove excess moisture. Let them drain at least 30 minutes. Lay the zucchini on a layer of paper towel and blot dry with additional paper towel. Place in a bowl and add the olive oil or butter and the garlic powder. Toss to combine. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Lay the zucchini slices in a single layer on the baking sheets. Bake 80 to 90 minutes, until dry, browned and crisp, rotating the sheets halfway through baking. Remove and sprinkle with grated parmesan and salt to taste. If you are not serving immediately, return to the warm oven (with the oven off) and prop open the oven door with a wooden spoon to stay warm and crisp. 
