Baked Potato Chips

I'm not sure if I love it or hate it that I get a five pound bag of amazing potatoes with every CSA delivery. While I love every bite of their starchy goodness, there's no denying that the arrival of such a bounty definitely increases my uptake of these delicious tubers to levels much higher than normal.
My red potatoes made first for a pretty fine soup and a few batches of fries, but then my thoughts turned to chips. I don't often buy them because I'll end up treating a bag of Kettle Chips as a single serving, but I'm certainly willing to put in a little effort if it gets me to salty snack nirvana at a more reasonable serving size. With just a little oil and generous dash of salt, the oven can produce some wonderfully satisfying chips.

Texture varies quite significantly with the thickness of the slices. Despite my best efforts, no oven baked chips will turn out exactly like the deep-fried variety, but these are amazingly satisfying. 1/4-inch-thick slices are roasted potatoes than actual chips, but the 1/8- to 3/16-inch-thick slices become quite light and crispy. This recipe is very basic, great for any potato you'd like to experiment with, but you'll want to check in periodically before you become familiar with how a particular type of potato cooks. The chips are delicious with just salt, but you should also try tossing them with any kind of spice blend or seasoning salt you like or adding cheesy flavor with freshly grated Parmesan or nutritional yeast (for vegans). They're not a health food by any means, but perhaps a bit more special than the store-bought variety, at least because of the effort that went into them. And if you feel so inclined, they make a pretty spectacular batch of Irish Nachos too.

Baked Potato Chips
adapted from Martha Stewart
serves 4

Olive oil cooking spray
2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1/8 to 3/16-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Seasoning blend, to taste (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray; set aside. Put potatoes, oil, and salt in a large bowl; season with pepper, i. Toss to combine.

2. Arrange potato slices on prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1/4 inch apart. Bake, flipping periodically and rotating sheets halfway through, until potatoes are crisp and golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Spread out potatoes on parchment paper; let dry 5 minutes. Sprinkle with additional salt and/or seasoning mix, if desired.