Le Chip Roulette.
Before I get to how to cook homemade potato chips and avoid the game we food allergic individuals refer to as Le Chip Roulette, I'd like to mention dreaming. Because I woke from some very strange dreams this morning. Dreams involving caveman chest hair and glistening inky fish and long distance songs on some radio left behind in an abandoned mining shack perfect for a David Lynch location shoot. Spandau Ballet, in fact- crooning, I know this much is tru-hoo.
It's day fifteen of the tenacious head cold I picked up in Los Angeles. And it's Friday the thirteenth. But I'm not so easily spooked. Old ghosts got nothing on this morning's weirdness. This is kindergarten stuff. Amateur hour. So I shook it off and brewed some tea.
I'm blaming high altitude and not enough fresh fruit.
You decide, they're telling me. You take the risk. It's our game, and we spin the wheel of Le Chip Roulette. And, hey, if it's soy-free- you're golden. You win! With this particular bag of chips, anyway. The next batch you consume may make you sick. But. Do we care? We warned you. We clearly stated, "may contain". Our hands are clean. See ya! We fulfilled the letter of the law. We did our part.
This much is tru-hoo.
Frustrating. And seemingly, a small annoyance. But the sad, big picture truth is, those of us with food allergies often go hungry. Especially when we travel. Or have a crazy-busy day where we work or run errands straight through lunchtime and all we want to do is grab a simple snack to tide us over until we reach the safety of our own little kitchen. Because on the road, sometimes you run out of the homemade gluten-free cookies you cleverly tossed in your purse, or your ready-to-eat ripe banana turns black in the 100 degree heat of the closed up car in the parking lot. Sometimes a girl just needs a potato chip.
Is that too much to ask?
And double the frustration when it's one of your kids who's hungry and tired and you got stuck in traffic or delayed at Jiffy Lube. So with this snack roulette frustration in mind, I decided to experiment with making my own allergen-free potato chips.
How hard could it be? I figured.
Crunchy White and Sweet Potato Chips Recipe
Published by Karina ©2009.
I fried up a batch of sweet potato and baking potato chips the other day. My ingredient list? Potatoes, olive oil and sea salt. And how did they taste? As good as they look. I'd like to make these with blue potatoes next. Then maybe try other root vegetables. Rutabaga chips anyone?
As far as oil goes, I prefer olive oil in and with almost everything. It tastes good. It's good for me (monosaturated). And I'm not allergic to it. All big pluses. If you cannot tolerate olives, substitute your own favorite cooking oil. Peanut, safflower, and organic non-GMO canola oil will all work.
Here's what I did. I used:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, sliced very thin
2 medium baking potatoes, scrubbed, sliced very thin
Instructions:
Heat a an inch of high heat friendly oil in a large deep skillet, or even a wok. When the temperature is very hot (I didn't use a thermometer but recipes call for 350 degrees F, usually) carefully place just enough chips- either all white or all sweet in each batch because their timing is different- to take up space in the oil without crowding them too much; and fry them till golden crisp. Remove with long handled tongs and drain on paper towels. Lightly salt them while they're hot.
Heat a an inch of high heat friendly oil in a large deep skillet, or even a wok. When the temperature is very hot (I didn't use a thermometer but recipes call for 350 degrees F, usually) carefully place just enough chips- either all white or all sweet in each batch because their timing is different- to take up space in the oil without crowding them too much; and fry them till golden crisp. Remove with long handled tongs and drain on paper towels. Lightly salt them while they're hot.
Work in batches until you have cooked all the chips. Add a little more oil if you need to as you cook batches- but note that I used much less oil than most recipes call for, and my chips turned out lovely and crisp. Drain them on paper towels and sprinkle with sea salt.
It couldn't be easier (just be careful of the hot oil- and don't drop any watery food in it- water and moisture makes oil spatter- ouch!).
Store in an air-tight container- that is if they aren't devoured within ten minutes.
Serves 4.
Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
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