Baked Kale Chips w/ White Bean Dip

Last week when I was going through my DVR I decided to catch up on one of my favorite shows: Private Chefs of Beverly Hills. There are usually episodes where the chefs have to create healthier dishes for their wealthy clients. The episode I saw highlighted a party for Ali Sweeneys book release. The chefs created a delicious, healthy menu for her and her guests. One of the appetizers stuck out to me. Baked Kale Chips with a bean dip. Of course they do not give you recipes when you are watching the show. But I heard Chef Sasha mention she was baking the kale chips with apple cider vinegar. That was all she gave me I was up for the challenge, because it sounded amazing!

It was one of the best things I had re created in a long time!

I have been wanting to make Kale chips for a while now. Everything that I had seen in the blog world required a dehydrator (a method used to preserve the nutrients). Which I don’t have. I think I nailed  the baking method though. These were full of flavor, and I ate the entire bowl of kale before I sat down to write this post :/

(recipe at the bottom)

The first thing you want to do is cut the stems out of your Kale. Rinse it very well and make sure it’s completely dry. I use a salad spinner:

Break the stemless Kale up into pieces and place in a bowl to coat lightly with the seasonings:

While it’s baking in the oven I prepared my White Bean dip.

If I am not using dried beans, I ALWAYS use Eden Food brand beans because they are BPA free (see my old school post on BPA dangers).

Rinse the beans really well.

Meanwhile, saute your olive oil with your herbs:

I thought rosemary and sage sounded good. But I only had the dried herbs on hand

When the garlic starts to brown, add your beans and saute for a few minutes.

Add the beans to your food processor or Vitamix and bend it until it’s a “dip” consistency.

Recipes:

Bunch of Kale, washed, dried completely and de-stemmed

1 part apple cider vinegar

2 parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sea Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. After you wash, dry and break the kale into pieces (not too small), place in a large bowl. Drizzle the SMALLEST amount of the olive oil mix over the greens to coat them. I would probably even use less next time. This gave it an incredible flavor,but you don’t want to saturate them. I then sprinkled them with a little Himalayan Sea Salt and placed them evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the edges are crispy.You don’t want them to get too brown, you still want that green color! Keep an eye on them. Oven times may vary! (Next time I may see what will happen if I turn the oven down as low as it goes, and cook them for longer. I was too impatient this time. And they came out delish)

WHITE BEAN DIP

1 can White Cannellini Beans

1/4 Cup Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus more for drizzling)

3 Cloves Garlic, minced

1/2 TSP lemon juice

1/2 tsp dried sage (or double the fresh sage)

1/4 tsp  Rosemary

Sea Salt & Fresh Ground Black Pepper, to taste

(post update) a sprinkle of cayenne to the olive oil topping for best results

Toss the olive oil, garlic, rosemary and sage in a pan on medium heat. Once the garlic starts to brown add the white beans. Cook over low heat for a few minutes. Place the mix into a food processor and blend until smooth. If you find the dip is dry, add a few TSP of water. Stir on salt and pepper to taste. If desired, drizzle a little garlic  flavored olive oil on top of the dip. I adapted this from Food & Wine

Lay out the kale chips on a plate and spoon on the dip to serve

This dip would be great on a brown rice wrap with some spinach and other veggies!

Please let me know if you try them! The chips didn’t even need the dip…but I wanted to get fancy for you guys, and it was a good pairing 

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By the way...thank you all SO MUCH for the sweet compliments on My baby girls name reveal

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Hope you have a great day!

xxoo