Kabocha Squash Pita Chips {paleo, GF}

I’ve been somewhat intrigued by paleo naan and flatbread recipes I’ve seen on Pinterest recently. I was especially fond of a recipe I found for a flatbread recipe that used winter squash in it. Any time I can sneak vegetables into a recipe that wouldn’t otherwise be made of vegetables, I’m down with that.

I bought some frozen Kabocha squash from Trader Joe’s intending to remake a recipe I’d made several years ago. However, when I thawed the squash I decided I wasn’t in love with the texture of precooked, frozen squash that’s been thawed. So I decided to find other recipes in which I could use up the squash.

I intended to make flatbread according to the Fresh Tart recipe I found. However, as I started rolling out my dough, I realized my dough looked nothing like the Fresh Tart pictures. Probably because I used squash puree instead of chunks of squash.

I made enough dough to yield 3 small balls of dough that I cooked individually in the oven. The first batch I baked on my pizza stone. The top looked great but then when I flipped it over the bottom looked undercooked. The recipe said the bread should be pliable and this definitely was. So I took a bite of it and I was not overly fond of the taste because of the chewiness of the texture. It was then I decided to to crisp up the bread by cooking it longer. Thus paleo “pita” chips were born.

For the other two batches of dough, I baked them on a cookie sheet instead of the pizza stone. And it seemed like the cookie sheet batches came out better.

My dad, sister and I ate these straight out of the oven with hummus, which yeah I know is not paleo but that’s what I normally eat with pita chips! And I had nothing paleo-ish and pita friendly on hand.

ingredients.

1 c. kabocha squash puree
2 c. tapioca starch
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more for topping
6 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on top
water, if necessary

directions.

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
Add puree, salt and olive oil to the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times. Add the tapioca starch and pulse until small clumps start to form. See if you can pinch together the dough. If you can, move on to the next step. If you can’t, add water one tablespoon at a time (pulsing the dough after each addition) until the dough holds together but isn’t wet. Form dough into a ball or several smaller balls.
Transfer dough to a large sheet of parchment paper. Flatten the top of the ball. Cover with the dough with another large sheet of parchment paper and roll the dough with a rolling-pin so that the dough is no more than 1/8-inch thick. You will probably have to pick up the dough and pull the parchment paper off as it tends to bunch. Flip over and do the same with the other piece of parchment paper as necessary. This step took me a while.
When you have a nice flat circle of dough remove the top piece of parchment paper and set aside. Drizzle dough with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with additional salt if necessary. Cut into desired shapes (triangles, strips, etc.)
Transfer dough and parchment paper to a cookie sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until edges are a bit brown, center is dried out. Let cool slightly before diving in.