And now let's return to our regular programming. It seems like it's been at least a year since I've heard of kale chips. You basically buy kale, rip it in pieces, add some olive oil, spices and bake in the oven. What you are supposed to end up with are crunchy chips that supposedly taste like potato chips.
As my darling sister would say, RIGHT!!! Of course I knew that the kale chips would not be as good as potato chips (and by good I mean taste and not nutrition), but I finally decided to give them a chance.
I followed Andy Bellatti's instructions for temperature and time in the oven, but used my own spices.
Ingredients
1 bunch kale, stems removed, washed, ripped into pieces {use a salad spinner if you have one to get rid off as much of the water as you can OR just use towels}
salt to taste
2 teaspoons Southwestern Chipotle Seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash)
good drizzle of olive oil
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a bowl combine kale, salt, Southwestern Chipotle Seasoning and olive oil.
3. Add kale in a single layer to the cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
before
after
My thoughts: photographing kale chips is a pain in the behind! But let's talk about the taste: they were pretty good. I think I overdid it on the oil, and some of them weren't superbly crunchy. Maybe I overcrowded the cookie sheet?
Also, just like the roasted chickpeas, these should be eaten immediately. Otherwise they become soggy.
Will I make these again, unlikely. I think I prefer kale in a soup.
Have you made kale chips? What are your thoughts?
My vegan colleague uses a dehydrator to make hers... not sure I'm quite ready to invest in one though, so this might work better for me ;-) Elizabeth's Gone Raw's are AMAZING. She adds nutritional yeast and jalapeno peppers for the coating...
ReplyDeleteI think these look great! Love the green with the yellow bowl.
ReplyDeleteKale chips are a delicious and healthy snack that you can whip up on the quick. I've made mine using Cayenne instead of Chipotle, but this sounds good too. I had the same problem - getting a consistent crunch from chip-to-chip.
ReplyDeleteI heart kale chips but the results are pretty hit or miss. I've burned more than my fair share but I've had some perfectly crisp and crunchy ones too. It's definitely fun to experiment with seasonings but I think I like mine best with nutritional yeast, onion powder, and a hint of sugar.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures look great, by the way! Maybe because they weren't perfectly crisp they didn't photograph as well as you would've liked?
Happy new year! I love kale chips. Try them on top of pizza!
ReplyDeleteReally!??! Right!!! I have yet to make them, but I'd bake them on top of a cooling rack. I think you'd get better results that way.
ReplyDeleteI second the cooling rack idea... that's how I make them and they come out great! I don't even bother with the spices, just olive oil and salt.
ReplyDeleteIn Holland we use kale in a mash: cook the kale on top of potatoes and then mash with some spices, milk and butter, serve with sausage and mustard - delicious! (Boerenkool stamppot we call it)
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you didn't like the kale chips too much! I love them and had some today!! I agree ... I have a really hard time photographing kale. Beautiful first pic!
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