Kale Chips

This. A $3 bunch of organic Kale. It’s my healthful lead-in to what may well be the most gut busting holiday season of the decade. Now, I’m not sure how this microtrend started — I assume it stemmed from some raw-foodists guilt at dropping $50 for a food dehydrator they stopped using after a week because they got tired of fruit leather — but the concept of crispy leaves picked up momentum about five years ago when too many chefs started flash-frying any herb they could get their hands on.

Nowadays, it’s advised as one of those clever contrivances for getting kids to eat their veggies. Kind of like V8 Splash or chocolate orange zucchini cake.

What's great about this recipe is its relative simplicity. It's even easier with the correct tools.

I washed them, removed some of the thicker stems, and cut them into about 1" pieces.

Now, I didn't have a salad spinner, so I took these to the bathroom (shut up, it's clean) and dried them thoroughly with the blow dryer on low.

I then threw the bone dry leaves into a food-grade plastic bag with a tablespoon of good olive oil and a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt. You can steal these bags from the produce section or from your local Asian fish monger.

Ziplock bags will work but I find it easier to toss salad when there's a lot of air around.

The leaves were spread out on a rack, which was balanced on a cookie sheet for some stability. I was lazy so I did it all at once. I should really do these in separate batches, one layer at a time...

Here are the chips fresh out of the oven. About 10 of them were soggy and another 10 were burnt. I really should have done them in separate batches, one layer at a time.

The kale absorbed most of the oil and some salt grains are visible.

Here is the same chip after lightly tapping it in the middle. These come out really thin, crisp, and fragile. It almost melts in your mouth.

Being one of dozens of Brassica species and cultivars, Kale possesses  a characteristic ‘funk’ we recognize from its family tree. Vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, mustard, and bok choy can be sulphurous to the nose in varying degrees. If you find this off-putting, you can mask that flavor with seasoned salt or fresh herbs.

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Oven Baked Kale Chips

1 bunch of Kale

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 teaspoon of salt (or to taste)

(optional) 1/4 tsp dried rosemary, dried parsley, or garlic powder

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.

Wash kale. Cut into chip-sized pieces.

Coat in oil. Season.

Spread on a rack or baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes – 10 minutes. Turn off oven but leave chips inside for another 7-10 minutes or until desired texture and color is reached.

These crisps are rather delicate and can burn very quickly. Check on them early and often. Sometimes the difference between delicious and bitter is a mere 30 seconds.

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Interesting note: When I was a budding cook, I’d always noticed that cabbage and broccoli smelled the same but it wasn’t until much later that I learned they were both the exact same species. It initially surprised me but it made sense. And after considering that humans also differ greatly in appearance, it became easier to accept. Kale is also of the same species Brassica oleracea. Their genetic identicalness may not be visually apparent, but neither is that of we and our neighbors.