I started by cutting the scrubbed, unpeeled sweet potato into quarters and feeding them into my food processor to slice. Of course you could use a knife as well, but I wanted the slices to be as thin as possible, and I can never cut a straight line freehand. I then tossed the pieces with 2 teaspoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of chili powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of salt in a large bowl.
The recipe called for laying the pieces in a single layer on a parchment covered cookie sheet and cooking at 350 F for 12 minutes. I did try that, but found that they were completely soggy and limp afterwards. Even an additional 10 minutes didn't redeem them. My boyfriend tried frying them in olive oil on his cast iron skillet. That worked a little better, but they ended up quite singed and used more oil than I would have liked. We ate those ones for dinner anyway and they weren't too bad. As I was falling asleep that night I wondered if it might have worked better just to microwave some pieces on a paper towel...after all, it works for bacon. Yes, these are the exciting thoughts that run through my head! So first thing the next morning I tried it out, thinking I could take them to work for my lunch. (There were still quite a few uncooked slices leftover in the fridge.) I laid a single layer on a folded paper towel and zapped it for 4 minutes on high. And....perfection! Golden crispy and delicious. The chili powder and salt gave just enough flavour to complement the natural sweetness. SO the moral of the story is: microwaves are handy tools! And I have a yummy snack in my lunchbag calling to me....
