Recipe: Paprika potato chips with ranch dip

Eating well is more than about what you eat, it's also about how you eat. These crispy potato chips, made aromatic with smoked paprika and served with a creamy ranch dip, make both the what and the how of chips-and-dip more healthful.

Instead of being deep-fried, these chips are baked with a light coating of olive oil and sprinkle of salt, which gives them a nutritional profile similar to roasted potatoes. They get their shattering crunch from a combination of ultra-thin slicing (technically achievable by hand, but I highly recommended a mandoline for the job) and a rinse in cold water before cooking to eliminate some of the potatoes' browning-inhibiting starches. The accompanying dip, which packs a startling punch of flavor for so few ingredients, is better-for-you too, with most of its creamy luxury coming from Greek yogurt mixed with just a little mayo for richness. Besides the way they're made, how you eat these chips is a 180 from tearing open a bag to plow through on the sofa. Made in a relatively small-batch and requiring more effort than just buying chips at the store, these are something of an event in and of themselves, a handcrafted treat warranting attention and savoring. And they happen to be so good, you probably can't eat just one, though you're also less likely to eat too many.