Baked Beet Chips with Labneh

Baked Beet Chips seasoned with garlic and cumin and paired with a cool and creamy cucumber labneh dip with feta and lemon.

Confession: I have a few food confessions, which are being more and more noticeable this month as Joe and I are working on eating “healthier” these days. The norm would be to pile a big basket full of tortilla chips and munch away on guacamole, cheeses and other bites as we unwind from our day and catch up over a glass of wine.

But all those chips are adding up, and adding up freakishly fast as my fat jeans are turning into my skinny jeans. I needed to make something to control my crunchy, savory tooth before I had a complete meltdown.  You understand, yes?

Welcome the new addition, baked beet chips! Baked, not fried (thanks to my mom for making sure of that!)  These baked beet chips are thinly sliced using a mandolin and coated in olive oil, garlic powder, cumin and salt and pepper. I love the combination of beets with smoky cumin ever since I made them into beet latkes and it’s been one of my favorite flavor combinations. To pair with the smoky cumin beet chip is a cool, bright lemony labneh dip drizzled with olive oil and garnished with crunchy cucumber and feta.

Move over chips and guac (actually no, please stay), there is a new chip-sheriff in town! (Too corny?)

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Baked Beet Chips with Labneh

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Total Time45 mins

Servings: 3 -4 servings

Author: Samantha Ferraro

Ingredients

Beet Chips

• 3-4 medium sized beets I used a combination of red and yellow
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Labneh Dip

• 1 cup Labneh
• 1 Persian cucumber peeled if you prefer and chopped finely
• Feta cheese for topping
• Lemon juice and lemon zest
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Zaatar for topping

Instructions

• First to make the beet chips, scrub the beets getting rid of any dirt or little roots. Keep the large stem in tact, but cut of the skinny root end so you have a flat surface.
• On setting 2 (or 3 for a bit thicker), carefully slice beets into rounds. I keep about 2 inches of stem still on the beet and use that as a "guard" while slicing the beets so I don't get too close to the end.
• Once all the beets are done, discard the root ends and add the rounds to a large bowl. Sprinkle with a bit of salt (about 1/4 tsp) and allow them to sit for about 10-15 minutes. This will help release their extra water.
• Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• After 10 minutes, check the beets for any accumulated liquid and drain. Use a paper towel to blot the beets so they can be as dry as possible *Note: I keep the yellow and gold beets separate from each other so the colors don't mix).
• Then add a drizzle of olive oil, cumin, garlic powder and black pepper to the beets and toss well to coat.
• Lay beets on a parchment lined baking sheet as close together as possible since they will shrimp. Then bake at 325 F for about 30 minutes or until beet chips have crispy edges. *Note #2: My oven tends to bake faster than others, so adjust time as necessary.
• Once done, remove from oven and allow to cool.
• To make the labneh dip, add labneh to a bowl and mix in lemon juice. Then top with feta cheese, chopped cucumber, lemon zest, pinch of zaatar and a good drizzle of olive oil.

While we’re all looking for a bit of lighter Mediterranean bite, my mom’s stuffed grape leaves recipe would be the perfect accompaniment to these baked beet chips and both can be dipped into the labneh!