Saturday, January 16, 2010

Crispy Kale

If you're a health nut, this is the recipe for you! Just be warned: "healthy recipes" will be few & far between here. :-)

This is another recipe I found thru Chowhound. This has to be one of the most simple recipes, yet I think it's by far one of the most messy things I make. By the time I'm done there is kale everywhere! All over the counters, the stove, the sink, the floor.

I took a few photos but they didn't turn out well. I was trying to show what the kale looks like before and after. You all know what fresh kale looks like, I guess. When it's done, it's a dark, dark green color - almost black.

During my leisurely stroll thru Super WalMart this morning this huge bag of triple washed kale was calling my name so I decided to include this recipe as one of the things I'm bringing for our monthly Fellowship meal tomorrow. The meal tomorrow is a true Pot Luck so we have no idea what we're going to end up with. That's the fun part of it!

On to the recipe: you will need cleaned & DRIED kale. It's important that it's as dry as possible. If you use whole kale leaves, get rid of the tough stem and tear it into pieces. Not too big or it will take too long to cook & not too small or it will crumble into tiny pieces.  Maybe the photos will give you an idea of the size of the pieces. Keep in mind that the kale will shrink down more than you can imagine.

You will also need some oil - vegetable or olive. And some salt or other seasoning. I used Trader Joe's sea salt today.

Preheat your oven to 250ยบ.

Use the biggest baking sheet you have. Place a rack on top of it. I tried to be lazy & not use the rack on my 1st batch. Bad idea!

Toss the kale with just enough oil to barely coat it. The oil is only there to make the seasoning stick. Sprinkle it with salt or the seasoning of your choice. Spread some in a single layer on the baking rack. Again, I tried to be lazy today & do it quicker by doing more than a single layer. It took more time & made more of a mess. Slow & easy does it.

Put it in the oven for 15 minutes. Take it out & toss it around. Put it back in the oven for another 10 to 20 minutes. You'll know when it's done when it's crispy & crumbles to pieces if you manhandle it. It's crunchy like chips but it's delicate so be gentle with it until you get it into your mouth.

This has been compared to a highly addictive drug. It's good but it doesn't really do it for me. A lot of people seem to really like it. It's certainly different than most snacks. A novelty, if you will. And then there's that healthy aspect...

A word to the wise: after you eat this stuff, check your teeth in the mirror before you smile at anyone! ;-)



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