Thursday, July 16, 2009

Kale Chips

Kale - easy to grow, tolerant, long-living, strong flavored and good for us. I love it in salads, in quiche, in soup. And yet we have so much of it growing (and get it from the CSA), we can hardly eat it all. I've just discovered a way to gobble up every last leaf. Kale chips! This recipe for kale chips is so yummy, the first time I made it, I ate two sheets of it myself! (It bakes up to nearly nothing.) Try these soon, and make sure you have enough for two batches!

Before



After

Here's the recipe I used. I didn't have apple cider vinegar, so I used white vinegar and it worked out fine. I think balsamic would add interest, too. I'm also thinking of sprinkling the leaves with chili powder, curry or other spices. Also, the more you can keep the leaves to a single layer, the more evenly they will cook. Use a couple of baking sheets, if necessary.

Wouldn't these make a great fall party food? When they come out of the oven, they look like dried leaves.


I was inspired to try this when I saw it mentioned on someone's blog. I can't recall which one, so apologies if it was yours. Let me know!

10 comments:

Anna said...

Ooooh, I'll have to try this!

Marilyn Miller said...

Thanks for the recipe. This is one I can fix for my daughter.

AZ Tea Lover said...

Wow, those do sound yummy. Do they maintain their nutritional value being cooked this way?

Steph said...

Like with any cooked vegetable(except maybe tomatoes), I'm sure some of the nutritional value is lost in the cooking process. To what extent, I am uncertain. I imagine the fiber is still there, and I'm guessing some of the green stuff retains its value - but I don't know for certain.

Amy said...

wish i had this last summer when the CSA was delivering Kale by the buckets. Looks yummy!

artandtea said...

Thanks Steph, I'm going to try this! I've been trying to figure out a way to eat more dark green leafies and this just might work for me.

parTea lady said...

I'm not sure that I've ever tried kale. Is it like Swiss chard? This is a very interesting way to cook it.

Steph said...

Yes, kale is similar to swiss chard. It's one of those strong-flavored greens. Its leaves are so of water-resistant. When rain hits a leaf, the water forms big drops then rolls right off.

sweetcakes said...

Kale is not my favorite and I prefer it cooked rather than in salads but your chips sound interesting and worth a try. Thanks for the idea.

AZ Tea Lover said...

I tried these this weekend - I ate the whole batch! I used balsamic vinegar and that gave them a robust flavor. I also sprinkled salt over the top of them before baking instead of mixing in, and that worked great. Thanks for the recipe! I'm going to get more kale and make some more.