Hankering for a Salty, Crunchy Snack?

• Friday, February 3rd, 2012
• by Carol

Josh Bryson passed this recipe on to us - you can flavor these chips any way that you like.  They are packed with a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. We've made ours with Chili Powder before and they are outstanding.  Some folks add a dash of balsamic vinegar, too.  Here is the recipe from 84th&3rd...thanks Josh!

Yummy Kale Chips:

Ingredients:

5 packed cups organic Curly Kale, torn into bite size pieces* – you will get at least 5 cups from a single bunch.

1 Tbsp good olive oil

2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

pinch cayenne pepper [optional]

Quick Method:

Divide torn leaves across 2 trays, coat with oil, sprinkle with seasonings. Bake for 10 mins at 180C [350F] – stirring once. Remove from oven and allow oven to cool for a bit.  Place back in mostly cooled down oven to dry out entirely. Eat.

Full Method:

Preheat oven to 180C [350F]. Wash and dry kale [I use a salad spinner thingy to get the water off]. Divide torn leaves across 2 cookie sheets – that is about 2 1/2 packed cups on each tray. No need to line trays.

Drizzle half of the oil on each tray of leaves and scrunch with your hands to coat them evenly with a thin layer. Spread into a single layer. Important things: Do not add more oil, it will not end well – 1/2 Tbsp is plenty for 2 1/2 cups of kale; Don’t be afraid of scrunching the leaves until they are evenly coated – you are baking them after all, a bit of scrunching is fine.

Combine dry seasonings in a small dish. Sprinkle half the mixture over each tray. Toss gently if necessary.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, stirring half way through.  I have asbestos fingers from years of waiting tables so I just move them around with my hand, you can use a large spoon or tongs, just don’t crush them. Again, this step is quite important – you want all the leaves to get crispy and none to get burnt.

Remove from oven, toss again and allow to cool. At this point they are probably just fine to eat… I however like them really crispy and want them to keep well for a few days. Sooo, I wait for the oven to cool down a bit after it’s been turned off – 10 or 15 mins maybe? Then pop the trays back in and let them sit until the oven is completely cool. There is just enough heat to finish crisping up any rogue chips, but not enough to burn them. Tricky.

Makes about 3-ish cups of chips. If necessary store in an airtight container for a few days.

*Notes:

The easiest way to remove the leaves from the core is to gently pull your fingers along the stalk from base to top – the leaves will tear right off, when the stalk breaks it is probably thin enough to eat.