Last time, I wrote about yacon chips. Now, I was exploring the idea of chips a bit further as a healthy addition to the lunchbox: alexanders chips. Alexanders is a perennial green vegetable which spreads under trees in shade. It grows mainly over winter, has a celery-like flavour and every part of the plant is edible. At the moment I do not have any alexanders for sale, but I will start some plants over winter and they will be available in spring: alexanders plant.
The basic recipe for any vegetable chips goes like this: Wash and dry thoroughly, best in a salad spinner. If you don’t have a salad spinner use a tea towel and whirl the greens around (outside!). Remove the stalks, they contain too much moisture which would make the chips soggy. Per bunch of greens use one tablespoon of good oil (Ok that’s not very exact) and salt, toss and turn thoroughly. Too much oil and the chips become soggy. Spread ou evenly on a baking sheet, bake in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes at 175 C.
I did not use baking paper and it worked perfectly. By all means, do not use alfoil unless you want to get Alzheimer’s disease. The chips can be stored in a paper bag or in a tin, but they easily absorb moisture and get soggy.
Since alexander does taste somewhat like celery the chips tasted somewhat like celery or like alexanders for that matter. Micha’s taste test was 8 out of 10 munching and munching but the teenager rating was only 5 out of 10 and therefore it is not suitable for the lunchbox!