Simple Food: Baked Radish Chips

I know I've told you before about my love for the CSA box that shows up on my doorstep every other Tuesday morning. Inside, there is organic, seasonal and local broccoli, chard, spinach, Cara Cara oranges, romanesco, Braeburn apples and more. One little veggie that has been showing up a lot lately are bunched radishes. I don't really have much of a history with them. I remember my uncle would have a container of radishes in his fridge soaking in cold water. He would eat them raw with a little salt during those few months in Michigan when the air is so hot and thick it is hard to move. Besides that, I know that I usually try to avoid them in salads because they seem a bit too peppery. So I looked up ideas for what to do with them and discoverd that some people make chips from them. Sort of like the turnip chips I made a while ago. And just like the turnips, these little chips are definitely an imperfect snack as they take a while and there is a lot of work involved and they shrink in the oven and cook unevenly, but all of that being said I find them so irresistable that they oftentimes never even make it from the roasting sheet to a plate before ending up in my mouth.
I had three bunches of radishes on hand that I had accumulated while dragging my feet on what to make with them. In Heidi Swanson's book Super Natural Everyday, which is where I got the Turnip Chip recipe, she says you should slice the turnip, or in this case the radish, no thicker than 2 credit cards stacked on top of eachother. I quite like that description and just the perfect thinkness, too. I really take my time with this part because admittedly I love to chop, slice and dice. Maybe I worked for Mrs. Patmore in a previous life. I like to be in the kitchen using my hands, it is a meditation of sorts. Once you have them sliced up, toss them in a bowl with a few go rounds of olive oil. And lay them flat, piece by piece on a baking sheet.
Perheat the oven to 425 and pop 'em on in there. Now, it can take anywhere from 10 - 20 minutes for the chips to bake up. I stay really close to the oven for this part and keep a watchful eye. The thinner chips on the perimeter will darken first, so I'll pull them off the sheet and return the pan to the oven for the thicker ones to continue cooking. Once they are tender enough for your liking, put them in a bowl and enjoy with a squeeze of lemon or a shake of salt. Don't be too put off by their appearance, what they lack in aesthetics they more than make up for in taste. But like I said before, it is a rare occasion that these homely chips even make it to a bowl around these parts. Oh, and I am quite fond of using the whole plant, so the morning after I made these chips, I threw their greens into the blender with an orange, apple and strawberries and kickstarted my day with a delicious green smoothie. I did the same thing with the carrot tops this week too.