Jerk Pattypan and Zucchini Squash Chips
Happy Monday! This weekend after heading South for a quarterly state dietetics board meeting I came home to catch up on cleaning out my fridge. EEEP! Let's just say after the husband texted me a picture of a very moldy squash I had some work to do (something's gotta give when you're busy). Also on my to-do list was to think of a way to use dehydration in food prep for this month's Recipe Redux challenge. Nothing like necessity to spark creativity.
The great thing about dehydration is that it's a smart way to save summer produce for later. While you can buy dehydrators I'm hesitant to add one more big piece of equipment to my counter. Luckily, a low temperature oven is just as good! So what to dehydrate? My fridge told me I had some squash to burn...so jerk zucchini and pattypan chips it was! As you can see from the other Recipe Redux links this month, others definitely had squash to use too!
Jerk Zucchini & Pattypan Chips
/// Ingredients ///
- zucchini
- pattypan squash
- jerk seasoning
- olive oil
/// Directions /// Pre-heat oven to 225 F. Slice the pattypan squash and jerk to 1/8th inch thickness. This is a great time to break out your mandolin. Toss in a tiny bit of olive oil and shake jerk seasoning to taste over the top. I love, love, love the Penzey's spice line. Their jerk seasoning includes ginger, ancho chili, brown sugar, garlic, paprika, allspice, lemon grass, thyme and nutmeg...also some cumin and cayenne. Place chips to a pan. Bake one hour. Rotate pan to make sure no oil is pooling and making the chips soggy. Bake for another hour. Reduce temperature to lowest setting for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest on a paper towel until crisp.
Veggie chips are a great way to get a little produce in your diet in a fun way. They're really easy to make if you start early in the day (don't start these late at night!). Happy crunching!
Dietitian Nutritionist and cookbook author sharing flavor-forward recipes and simplified science-driven wellness.