Roasted Squash Chips with Homemade Onion Dip

Slow roasted squash chips have all the crunch you crave in an ordinary chip, with more flavor and less guilt. Serve with this creamy homemade french onion dip that skips on the crap but not the flavor.

I could live without ice cream. Well, most sweets besides dark chocolate. While it’s true that I enjoy sweets immensely, I don’t feel the centrifugal force that draws others to sweets with the power of a supermassive black hole. You could say I’m lucky. But on the other end of the spectrum there is a different desire. One that, in it’s presence, allows me to lose all control and fall down a rabbit hole of salted crunch. Potato chips, my best friend and worst foe. If I know they’re in the house they MUST be eaten until they are gone. I can’t even walk down said aisle in the grocery store. The desire is too strong.

So when these roasted squash chips turned out with all the crunch and salt power my mouth can’t say no to, I knew that this could be the best thing ever. Because squash chips are essentially roasted squash that was forgotten in the oven. No deep frying. Low carbs. No guilt!

Chips, meet roasted squash

These roasted squash chips win for three reasons: 1. squash is loaded with healthy things 2. any food that is simple and easy to make is inching in on first place 3.they don’t have a ghee, herbs de provence, and lavender flavor potato chip in the grocery store. Lay’s take note.

While not as convenient as simply buying a bagged snack, roasted squash chips only require a knife, cutting board, baking sheet, and oven. They roast for about an hour at a low temperature. This gives the squash lots of crunch without getting burned. I practiced yoga and cleaned the kitchen while these babies roasted in the oven. I accidentally purchased this Herbs de Provence with lavender by Morton & Bassett at the grocery store recently. My reaction went from “oh shoot” to “oh my gawd yaaaaas!” in the matter of a second. I already happened to own lavender for my lavender early grey crepe recipe, but I would have never thought to toss it with herbs de provence. Bad ass idea Morton & Bassett. These squash chips are now irresistible.

Homemade Onion Dip

What is a crunchy, salty chip with out some creamy french onion dip? But do you know how hard it is to find french onion dip without MSG in it? It is 2017! How is this still a thing? The only solution that makes sense is to make your own. Because it is simple and way more delicious to cook yourself. First slowly caramelize an onion. And finally put it in a blender with yogurt, a little sour cream, garlic, and parmesan. Two step dip complete.

Snack freely

I very much hate the term clean eating. I think I just needed to get that off my chest. But I will not deny that finding snacks that are made with wholesome ingredients to be refreshing. If I’m craving something crunchy I can just eat it rather than feeling like I failed at life for the the day. Sending my daughter to school with roasted squash chips as a snack is also a sneaky way to get some squash into her. She hates winter squash and sweet potatoes. But, she loves these!

So whether you’re like me and trying to avoid the black whole of a potato chip bag or you just want a crunchy way to enjoy squash, roasted squash chips is THE way to get your fix.

HOW IS YOUR CSA GOING?

All summer long I’ve created recipes for the series I’m doing called “What to do with your CSA Farm Share” . Did you purchase a CSA this year? Tell me how it’s going. What struggles did you have? Did you try out any of the recipes I made for this series? If so, what was your favorite? What other resources have been helpful for you as you cooked your way through the summer? Your opinion and perspective are so valuable to me as I work to improve the content here at POP KITCHEN to meet your needs. Leave a comment below or send me an email through my contact page .

WHAT’S IN SEASON THIS WEEK | SEPTEMBER 20- 26

Here’s what you’re most likely to find in your farm shares or at a farmer’s market this week.

Winter Squash*
Garlic*
Onions*
Potatoes
Carrots
Loose leaf lettuce
Sweet peppers
Arugula
Tomatoes
Apples

The asterisked items are featured in this recipe .

When you make these roasted squash chips or onion dip, let me know! I absolutely love seeing your photos of POP KITCHEN recipes up on Instagram. Use the hashtag #popkitchen when you post photos of recipes you’ve made to your Instagram and tag @pop_kitch. I’ll share my favorite photos on POP KITCHEN’s account.

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Recipe

Roasted Squash Chips with Homemade Onion Dip

Ingredients

1 small squash, kabocha, acorn, butternut and delicata all work (I used kabocha)
2 Tbsp ghee, coconut oil or pure olive oil
4 tsp herbs de provence with lavender (or just add a pinch of lavender to regular herbs de provence)
½ tsp sea salt
½ large yellow or white onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp ghee, coconut oil, or pure olive oil
½ cup plain yogurt
3 Tbsp sour cream
½ clove garlic
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
¼ tsp black pepper
pinch of sea salt

Instructions

SQUASH CHIPS: First, heat the oven to 275 F/140 C/1 gas. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or tin foil (if you use tin foil I recommended just giving a quick spray with non stick cooking spray). To cut your squash, first cut off the top and the bottom with a long and heavy chef’s knife. This way the squash won’t roll while you try to cut it. Place the squash on one of it’s flat ends and cut it in half vertically. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Making sure that you are tucking back your fingers, carefully cut each squash half into thin (as thin as you can muster but ¼-1/2 inch thick will be fine) slices.
In a large bowl toss the ghee or oil (melt it first if it’s a solid) with the squash slices, herbs de provence, and salt. Lay the squash in a single layer on the baking sheets. Roast for 30 minutes. Flip the squash over and roast 30 minutes more. Place the hot squash on paper towels to cool and crisp up. Once cool, store the squash in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
ONION DIP: The base of this onion dip is nicely caramelized onions. To achieve a perfect caramelized onion you want to cook them on low for about 20-30 minutes. While your squash is cooking, melt your ghee in a sauté pan on medium heat and add the onions. Once the onions become soft and translucent lower the heat slightly. Check back on the onions every 4 minutes or so and give it a stir. As the onions start to caramelize, you can speed up the process by adding ½ tsp of honey and a pinch of salt. Cook until you have achieved soft, caramelized onions. Allow the onions to cool before making the dip.
In a blender, combine the cooled onions, yogurt, sour cream, garlic, parmesan, salt and pepper. Blend on high until you have a smooth creamy dip. Taste to see if it needs any more salt, pepper or garlic. If it looks a little thin it will firm up if you let it sit in the fridge.