I know, I'm about two years behind the craze with this dish.
I'm hoping though, because I'm SO late to the kale chip party, that by sharing them with you today I'll actually be introducing them to all you food blog readers who like me, missed the first wave of excitement over them when they were foodie's darlings a few years back.
I've seen so many recipes for these on-line that its clear there was a bit of a kale chip craze at one point, much like the "macaron" frenzy that seems to be in constant force on food blogs.
Now, having eaten more than my fair share of fabulous macarons during my time in France, I get how they can fuel a never ending obsession among foodies the world over.
But kale chips…..are you kidding me?
Let's see. We'll take a hearty (read tough), slightly bitter green that most people will never even try to eat, because let's face it, like chard or collards, it looks like its been around long enough to have been dinosaur food. And what are we going to do with it to make it more enticing to the doubting masses? We're going to bake it until it's a dark green-brown-black and totally desiccated? Yeah….that should do the trick, brilliant idea!
I've no idea who's idea it was to prepare kale this way, but can I tell you, now that I've had kale chips I totally get what all the excitement's about. These things are totally craze worthy. So much so, that Boris, Arthas, my wife and I pretty much snarfed down our first batch before they even finished cooling on the rack.
Yeah, that's right here's a recipe for a superfood that is so good our teenage boys eat it like it's candy. Now that's the kind of craze I can get behind!
Making the chips couldn't be easier, all you have to do is wash and dry the kale, remove its tough center rib and cut the leaves into manageable pieces. Toss them into large mixing bowl with a few glugs of EVOO and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt. Bake on a sheet pan in a single layer in a 300℉ for about 20 minutes (until crispy) et voila!
Enjoy! – Steve
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch kale (either curly leaf, or Blue Tuscan "Lacinato" will do)
- a few glugs of good quality EVOO
- Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300℉, and evenly distribute 3 racks inside (if you have that many). A bunch of kale will take 3 half-sheet pans to cook, so if you don't have 3 racks, you'll need to cook them in batches.
- Wash and dry the kale, first in a salad spinner, then by laying it between layers of fresh kitchen towels or paper towels so you get it as dry as possible.
- Remove its tough center rib and cut the remaining part of each leaf into manageable pieces. Toss them into a large mixing bowl with a few glugs of EVOO and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt.
- Bake on sheet pans in a single layer, and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes (until crispy) et voila!
- Remove from the sheets to cool completely on cooling racks before storing in a airtight container.