Orange Sweet Potato Baked Chips with Thyme

Sweet potatoes and yams: True sweet potatoes are tuberous vegetables with light to deep-red skins and pale yellow to orange flesh. The term yam is also incorrectly applied to sweet potatoes in US, most often when referring to the darker-skinned, orange-fleshed variety. In fact, true yams are a very large tuberous vegetable eaten in Africa and the Caribbean.

Sweet potatoes contain more beta-carotene than carrots plus vitamin C and fiber. In contrast, true yams have no beta-carotene.


Ingredients: 

• 1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), scrubbed 
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil 
• 1 tsp orange zest 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• freshly ground pepper 
• 1 tsp thyme 

Directions:

Heat the oven to 325°F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Slice the sweet potato into very thin rounds using a mandoline slicer.



Mix together olive oil and orange zest in a small bowl. Brush two baking sheets with half of oil mixture. Place potato slices on sheets in a single layer and brush tops with remaining oil. Sprinkle with thyme, salt and freshly ground pepper. For one medium sweet potato you will need two-three baking sheets.



Bake one sheet at a time until the edges of the chips curl up, the centers are just golden brown, and the tops are dry to the touch, about 20 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the chips cool until crisp, about 3 minutes. Using your hands, carefully transfer the chips to a serving dish. Repeat with the second sheet.