Airline food…usually dreadful, prepackaged or nonexistent.    I have never been excited about airline food – ever – however, I was lucky enough to try out one of Jet Blue’s new Mint seats, lovely pods that completely recline into 6’8″ beds, with personal service, 15″ interactive video screens and Fly-Fi.  What I wasn’t expecting though was the quality of the food.    Jet Blue has partnered with renowned New York restaurant Saxon + Parole to create a small-plates menu which they call ‘Nourishmint’, an upscale dining restaurant style approach to in-flight dining.   Picture beet salad with burrata, green goddess salad and lobster mac and cheese, all really delicious, but what got me excited was their ‘welcome taste’ of seasonal root vegetable chips with green scallion aioli. I had to resist the urge to lick the container, it was so good.  I have been wanting to try making root vegetable chips for a while, but now I was truly inspired.  I was unable to find the Saxon + Parole recipe so I had to get creative.  I realized I did well though, especially on the dip – as I caught myself scraping the bottom of the bowl with my finger…

I wanted a colorful collection of chips so chose the dark purple sweet potatoes, bright orange sweet potatoes, red beets with their candycane coloring and creamy parnships. Each COLOR brings something different to the party.  Dark purple vegetables have anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants along with vitamin A and flavonoids; orange provides vitamins C, A, and B6, potassium; red is usually a sign of vitamin A (beta carotene) and vitamin C. and manganese;  and even white veggies shine with vitamins and minerals like vitamins C, K, and folate.   The sweet potatoes crisped up the best and were the crowd favorite.  Paired with the creamy scallion, lemon, parmesan dip, they were divine, almost as good as the original.

TIPS:  Use whatever root vegetables you have available but don’t be tempted to cook them all together, as each veggie has a different cooking time, depending on thickness of cut and amount of natural sugar.  You can make multiple batches and reuse the parchment paper (which also makes cleanup really easy as you just throw the paper away when finished) or if you have double ovens (and enough baking sheets), you should be able to cook them all at once .  The sweet potatoes were done first, followed by the parsnips.  The beets took quite a bit longer and some of them never crisped.  Feel free to experiment with your favorite spices.  The chips are best served right away but will stay fresh for a few days.

ROOT VEGETABLE CHIPS