Or, I never thought we’d like kale (in any form).
Our first try at fresh kale was a bunch from a farmers’ market. Sadly, it was all covered in aphids, and ended in the trash (and required an unplanned kitchen scrub). The second encounter was not infested, but damn tough, chewy and had rather unpleasant taste. It’s the one cooked meal that has ended in the trash. We then joined a local CSA, where we can pluck our own produce, and started introducing kale into our diet slowly, first mixing a tiny bit with rainbow chard, and then increasing the amount week by week.
Our first encounter with kale chips was a purchased snack from a supermarket. They also ended in the trash. And the trash had to be taken out prematurely because the smell was off-putting(!). And then one day we harvested a bit too much for dinner, and decided to turn the rest into chips at home. And we were converted.
It’s a fairly easy process, but if you’re serving this at a party, you’ll need some time and a lot of baking trays.
Ingredients
- 300 gr kale, stems removed, torn into bit size pieces (yields about 200 gr clean kale)
- Olive oil, salt & fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- Clean the kale pieces: fill a sink with room temperature water, add a glug or two of white vinegar, and throw the kale in.
- Slosh (scientific term, I assure you) the kale around in the vinegary water, squish it between your hands a bit, and let soak and perk up for about 30 mins.
- Preheat the oven to 105°C (preferably a fan oven, but without fan should work too – haven’t tried). Line two baking trays with baking paper (cause I don’t love washing the trays).
- Use a salad spinner or any other method you prefer to dry the kale.
- Divide the kale between the lined baking trays. Make sure it’s all in one layer (or as much as possible).
- Spray olive oil on the kale, add a few shakes of salt and a few grinds of pepper (to taste).
- Bake in oven 15 minutes. One tray at 1/3 height, one tray at 2/3 height.
- Rotate (front to back) and switch (top to bottom) trays, stir kale a bit, and bake an additional 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, let cool a bit, and serve.
Enjoy!
