Kale Chips for Life
If you have kale chips, you have everything you need in life. This coming from a self confessed potato chip addict. I will eat an entire family-sized bag in one sitting without even blinking twice. This is very very counterintuitive to my health and wellness mindset. So, I was extremely pleased upon finding out that kale chips taste even better. And they’re baked! Blessings abound! Now, if you go to the store to buy them, you will quickly find out they ain’t cheap. It’s a good thing the ingredients are easy to find and, if you have the time to practice, baking them is easy and quick.
This is actually the perfect time to get to know your home oven. It has never been more important than it is at this moment. These puppies are temperamental! I suggest a baking temperature just at or two degrees below 150°C. Any more and they’ll burn faster than lightning, any less and they’ll burn just the same but slower! If you have an oven thermometer, take the time to check that the temperature the oven dial indicates is actually what the oven is producing. Once you have a handle on that, you’ll also need to spend a few batches locating the perfect spot on the rack and the perfect time to rotate or flip. Now, I know that’s a bit of work. But, once you’ve done it and written it down, it will never change… except seasonally… but it’s worth it I promise!
The two other most important variables for producing a beautiful, deep green, crispy and unburnt piece of heaven are moisture and oil content. You’ll need to wash the kale because it can be a very dirty little girl. Please use a salad spinner to dry it to the bone. Or wash it the day before and let it dry completely overnight. Any tiny bit of extra moisture on the leaves will cause the kale to steam in the oven rather than bake. That’ll lead to a sad, soggy or burnt mess. Too much oil will lead to sogginess, and too little will mess with the bake time and lead to burnt crisps.
The great news is slightly burnt kale still tastes good! I swear. It’s just not pretty but it tastes quite ok. All the way black kale is a travesty upon all that is good in the world. You’ll have to throw that one away! If the looks are important to you, or you are cooking for others, buy enough kale that you can ’ruin’ a couple of batches before striking gold… er.. deep green.
Ingredients:
100g fresh kale, washed dried completely!
about 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
about 1 tsp pure white sesame oil
1 tsp finely ground sea salt
1 tsp finely ground ascetic acid (optional, but really good)
freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Directions: There are only a few short steps to the process. Preheat your oven to 150°C. Once you’ve washed and dried the kale, remove the stem. Flip the entire leaf onto its back to expose the thick stem. Use a paring knife to slice down either side of the stem and across the top to separate it from the leafy part. There’s nothing yum or redeemable about kale stems, unfortunately, so just throw that part away (or compost!). Then tear the remaining leaf into large parts. Kale shrinks alot when baked, so tiny pieces will become infinitesimally small chips. Go larger rather than smaller.
Next you’ll dress the leaves with oil and aromatics. I think in this case (and many cases) simple is better than complex. The chips have a bold flavor of their own so they don’t need much help. I like to mix sesame oil and olive oil, but you can use just olive oil if you’d like. The goal is to coat each leaf with oil without leaving any excess oil at the bottom of the dressing bowl. Add the torn leaves to a big bowl, drizzle with the oils and sprinkle with the salt and ascetic acid. Use your hands to massage the oil into the leaves. Don’t use alot of pressure, just give ’em the soft touch. If you find oil at the bottom of your bowl, you’ve used too much. Adjust your recipe for the next time. For now, move the leaves to a new bowl or a colander so they can shed any more excess oil. Now, ascetic acid is basically just dried up lemon juice. I’ve used it because I’m trying to avoid extra moisture but still get the bright kick of lemon. If you can’t find it, skip it! I found mine in one of the Indian stores in Sörnäinen. Don’t dress the leaves too far in advance of baking. Just like with salad, the salt will spring moisture from the leaves…. and moisture is death as we discussed earlier.
Lay a piece of parchment paper directly onto an oven rack. You don’t need a baking tray as there won’t be any drippings. This allows more air to circulate the leaves. You will need to work in batches. Don’t try to dump the whole lot onto one tray! Any overlapping parts will stay limp and soggy while the rest of the leaf crisps up. They don’t need a ton of space between, just not overlapping. Also, you’re looking for air circulation; so don’t try to flatten out the leaves. Just drop them and leave them where they lay. Place the rack into the middle of the preheated oven. Not the top, not the bottom…. the middle. Let them bake for about 5-8 minutes. However, that time is just a shot in the dark. Once you begin to smell the kale, that’s when you need to step lively! They’ll hopefully have already started to darken and crisp a little. You can take the rack out and flip each leaf with a pair of tongs if you’re looking for perfection. If you are impatiently awaiting the goodness, like I always am, you can just rotate the rack and place it back into oven. Remaining bake time is about five minutes. You should still be smelling the kale. If you stop smelling it, it’s burnt! If you stop smelling it, and then start smelling it again…. it’s black…. toss it and try again! Happy baking!
Uses: Well, most of my kale chips never make it farther than the tray to my mouth. However, their crispiness is a perfect foil for softer foods like mashed potatoes or mac & cheese. They also make a beautiful and tasty garnish if you’re plating something special. When I was a kid we used to crush up doritos and eat them in sandwiches… this would be a much healthier way to revisit childhood!
