Kale Chips

September 17th, 2012  |  Appetizers, Nibbles and Dips, Yankee Cook Recipes   |  2 Comments »

Kale is one of those foods that is so ridiculously nutritious, it’s like nature’s multivitamin. Sadly though, people tend to demure from its bold, bitter toughness, which is too bad. You’d think people would adore it, but no. I suspect there are plenty of folks out there who would prefer to nosh on a big bowl of salty, crispy potato chips, while bunches of kale whither away, forlorn in the produce department. The sad irony is that kale can be just as salty and crisp as the next vegetable.

Speaking of kale withering away, we bought the bunch used in this post over a week ago. I stored it the way I normally do, in a vase in the fridge with a little water to keep it hydrated. After a couple days though, the leaves started to look a little droopy. I replaced the water in the vase, which helped a bit but not much. Finally, this morning it occurred to me that maybe our little kale was missing the sunshine. I took take vase out of the fridge, set it in the sun and the kale perked right up. Which brings me to today’s helpful tip:

Helpful Tip: Perk up slightly wilted kale by cutting an inch or so off the stems (as you would with fresh-cut flowers), arranging it in a vase with fresh water and placing it in a sunny spot.

Kale chips are a salty snack with a satisfying crispness. There are a million recipes out there for kale chips. This one is mine. I like using a bit of granulated garlic to add a little savoriness to them, and I like to cook them slowly at a low temperature to prevent the oil from burning. The most important thing to remember is that the kale needs to be thoroughly dried before tossing the oil. Otherwise they tend to steam, and really, who wants that?

These are lovely served as a snack with a nice cold drink to wash them down.

Kale Chips - serves 2-4

6 – 8 stalks of fresh kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoons granulated garlic
1/4 teaspoon table salt

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.

Cut the spines out of each kale stalk and discard. Cut the leaves into bite sized pieces, about 1 or 2 square inches, roughly.

In a large bowl, toss the kale with olive oil, granulated garlic and salt.

Arrange the leaves in one layer on a large baking sheet or two. You may need to work in batches.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the kale is crisp and not at all soft. Allow to cool before transferring to a serving dish.

Serve alone or at parties to guests who will say you’re tremendously clever for baking kale into a chip.

Tags: Appetizers, Kale, Vegetarian, Yankee Cook Recipes

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