Crunchy Microwave Potato Chips

When we were teenagers, potatoes were banned in our household. You see my sister and I, having been denied potatoes except in a curry and at birthdays, loved potato fries, particularly my sister. And my grandmother (my father's mother) was always willing to fry up a batch on them on the sly for her. You see my grandmother disliked skinny people. That is ironic because she was absolutely reed thin and elegant. Whenever she would meet someone, she'd regard their size and if she found them lacking in the fat department, she would be dismissive.

My mother would come home from work and cluck her disapproval when she would see the oil soaked paper towels and plate. There was only so many times she could ask my grandmother to stop making them and she also knew that it was absolutely useless asking my sister to stop requesting for them.

Anyway, if my grandmother were still around, she'd have probably progressed to these chips. If you are one of those people that hate microwaves, well you may want to look away now because there is obviously a microwave involved. All you do is mandolin the chips are finely as you can and then microwave them on high for a few minutes. How long you cook them for is related to how thin you slice them.

I promise that these are absolutely amazingly good. I actually eat these without any salt as they allow you to control the amount of salt in them. I made one that were super thin on the lowest setting (although I did find it hard to slice a whole round chip) and I also made ones that were on the next thinnest setting. They required longer but they had a fantastic crunch to them!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you prefer thin or thick potato chips? And do you use your microwave for major cooking or more heating up? Microwave chocolate mug cake excepted of course ;)

Microwave Potato Chips

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes or so

• 1 large potato, washed
• Oil (I used between 1-2 tablespoons)
• Whatever seasoning you like (salt, salt and pepper, salt and vinegar, nori powder)

Step 1 - Peel the potato and then mandolin it as thinly as you would like. The thinnest setting produces thins and the next thinnest setting produces crunchy but thicker chips. Drizzle some oil on top and coat each chip lightly in oil (you don't have to get too exact and coat every piece). Brush a microwave proof plate with oil and place on the plate and microwave for 2 minutes if they are really thin or 4-5 minutes if they are thicker. Microwaves do vary so it's best to check to see how they are going.

Step 2 - Using an oven mitt (the plate will be hot) remove from the microwave and then using an angled spatula or butter knife, remove them from the plate. Allow to cool. Repeat with the remaining potato slices.