I love homemade potato chips. I absolutely LOVE them. There's something about their salty greasiness that just hits the spot. They really compliment any dish from fish to chicken to steak to a hearty Club Sandwich. I had a hankering for some the other night. I wanted to see if I could make a lighter version, that called for less oil, that weren't deep fried and that still tasted good. I knew they would need a minimal amount of oil - just a scant amount - otherwise the texture is wrong, the flavor is not quite right, and they'll stick to your pan like crazy!

I've been finding that I use an olive oil non-stick cooking spray for almost everything these days. It's a wonderful way to control the amount of oil you use You can evenly distribute the oil without oversaturating what it is your coating. This works wonderfully with roasted vegetables, and I thought it might with my potato chips as well. 

You'll need:

• A mandoline
• Potatoes, whatever kind suits your fancy. (I used red potatoes and left the skins on.)
• A can of non-stick olive oil spray such as Pam or Nature's Choice
• Sea salt
• Ground pepper
• Assorted spices and seasonings

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

The answer to getting crispy chips is a hot oven. You can even turn it up to 500 degrees, but you will need to stay nearby and monitor your chips closely. 

Using a mandoline on the thinnest setting, slice your potatoes so they're paper thin. Rinse, and blot dry with a paper towel. Removing their moisture helps to ensure a crispy chip. 

• Arrange the chips on a cookie sheet and spray with your olive oil spray. Carefully turn the potato slices over and repeat.
• Then generously sprinkle sea salt, pepper and any spice or seasoning you may wish to use. (We had fun and alternated between garlic powder, paprika and Italian seasonings.) 
• Place the cookie sheet in the hot oven and check for doneness after about 3 minutes, rotating and flipping over as needed. Depending. Plan on roughly 7-10 minutes per batch.
• Some chips may be ready to come out before others. Remove them from the cookie sheet and set aside on a plate to cool and further harden.
• Repeat the process until you have cooked as many potato chips desired. 
• If desired, place the chips back into the oven to warm prior to serving. Turn the oven off. You don't want to cook them, simply re-heat them.

Above our assorted chips. I did burn a couple and hid them in the plate. They still tasted good. We tossed our assortment of spiced and seasoned chips together on the same plate and enjoyed them with a London Broil, Kale salad with gorgonzola and my smoky chickpeas.  Needless to say, nary a chip remained. Serve them to friends and they will be amazed that these were baked and only used a trace amount of olive oil!

I think these could be a wonderful appetizer, slightly thicker, sprinkled with crispy pancetta and a creamy gorgonzola, or topped with a dollop of creme fraiche a sprinkle of caviar or thin slice of smoked salmon.

Dare I call these the figure friendly chip?