Root Vegetable Crisps

I recently shared a recipe for Root Vegetable Fries.  They were delicious (and will be making an appearance at the Thanksgiving table).  The only complaint about the fries was that they were not crispy.

Then I happened upon a recipe for crispy oven fries along with the secret to crispy fries: soaking.  At least 1 hour before baking, the potatoes (or other root vegetables) are soaked in cool water in order to remove some of the starch.  I adapted the potato recipe to the rest of my root vegetables to test the theory.   The vegetables were all sliced quite thin and soaked before baking.  The result: some nice crispy vegetables!  Yum!

Recipe Notes:

*Play around with the spices, adding your own favorite flavor combination.

*Don’t have pumpkin seeds?  Use sunflower seeds or panko bread crumbs for crunch

*I soaked my beets in a separate bowl, so they wouldn’t turn the rest of the vegetables red.

Root Vegetable Crisps

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

1 large red potato

1 medium sweet potato, peeled

1 large turnip, peeled

1 large beet, peeled

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tsp minced garlic

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Cut all of the vegetables into thin medallions with a sharp knife or mandolin slicer.  Place the slices in a large bowl and cover completely with cold water.  Let the vegetables soak for at least 1 hour (and up to 8 hours). 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Just before cooking, drain the bowl and pat the vegetable slices dry.  Place the dried vegetables into a large resealable bag.  Add the olive oil and shake to coat.

Place the pumpkin seeds in the bowl of a small food processor, pulse several times, until the seeds are crushed.  Add in the parmesan, garlic, salt, and pepper; pulse a few more times to combine.

Pour the seed mixture into the bag with the oil coated vegetables; seal and toss until well combined.  Place the vegetables in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets.  Bake for 20-30 minutes, flipping once.  Serve hot.

Serves 4

Enjoy!

YAmy