Kale is well known for the nutrition that it packs into its leaves. It also has a reputation in some circles as being kind of boring. Making your own crunchy Kale chips at home can give it the kick it needs to be incorporated into your diet unless you're already a convert.
How to make your own delicious Kale chips –
Grab yourself some good sized leaves from your garden and give them a bit of a wash. Cut out the stalks and cut the leaves into pieces as big as you’d like.
With the crinkly varieties, I’ve found that you can save a bit of time by cutting across the stalk where it narrows. Then trim the sides. You can just tear the leaves but as this is the highest quality kind of cooking post, I’ve shown pics of cutting 🤣
Don’t throw out the stalk or the little pieces of leaf that you inevitably end up with. You can dry and powder them later for stocks and soups.
You need to lightly coat the pieces with oil. Olive oil or Rice Bran oil do the trick nicely but use what you've got. Don’t drench them, just a light coating will do. Some folks lay them on a sheet of baking paper, I pop them into a big bowl to do it.
Sprinkle lightly with salt to taste. I love salt so I pile it on but your tastes may be a bit more delicate and refined. If you are using a bowl, give it all a toss so that the oil can get into all the nooks and crannies of your Kale pieces.
Preheat your oven to 120 – 150°C
Lay the pieces out on baking paper on an oven tray and pop them into your oven for 20 minutes or so, checking periodically for crunchiness.
Have a look after 10 minutes and move them around a bit and maybe even flip them so that they get baked evenly on both sides.
At this stage, before you pop the trays back into your oven, you can add Chili or Garlic flakes, dried Onion, Sesame seeds or Amaranth seeds as you desire. The choice is yours, it all adds to the taste!
When you’re happy with their crispness remove your chips from the oven and allow them to cool.
Munch away!
