Recipes: Dried Zucchini

Ahhhh Zucchini!

This year we've planted three hills of summer squash (cocozelle, black beauty, and yellow crookneck), so now we are faced with what to do with it all. One of my favorite and most interesting ways to put up the harvest is to make Dried Zucchini Chips. I make mine a little spicy and find that they are a perfect mid afternoon snack since they are full of flavor and crunch (and fiber so WATCH OUT!)

You will need a food dehydrator or you will need to be able to keep your oven at a low temp for a prolonged period of time (I've done this by cycling it on and off).

We bought our dehydrator at a garage sale a few years back, and there seems to be no shortage of them, so keep your eyes peeled.

Here is my recipe for Spicy Dried Zucchini Chips

5-6 medium to large summer squash (zucchini or other soft fleshed squash)
1 cup cold water
2 T Sriracha (A.K.A. Rooster Sauce)
2 T Soy Sauce
1 T garlic powder
1 T salt
2 T toasted sesame oil

Slice the summer squash into 1/4" chips. Mix together all ingredients except the squash. Coat the chips well with the marinade (I often let them soak while I set up the dehydrator).

Lay your chips out in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. My dehydrator will hold about 5-6 medium to large squash worth of chips, but yours may hold more or less.

Turn on the dehydrator and open the vent holes wide. Allow to dehydrate for about 24-36 hours. Rotate the trays several times during this process.

When your chips are completely dry, they should be quite crunchy. Store in a well sealed container. This will yield about 1 - 2 cups of chips.