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There was kale lurking at the bottom of the fridge. It was purchased with the most honourable of intentions- to be steamed and enjoyed with dinner or maybe for breakfast, tossed into a bowl of miso soup. Maybe it’s because A) the lovely, full collards stacked on top proved more enticing, as the place they occupied is now vacant. It could be that B) a few unplanned, whirlwind days kept hubs and I away from the kitchen… and the kale. Or, C) All of the above- Life happens and sometimes the most honourable intentions fall through. We’ll go with C) All of the above. Now, what to do with this lurking dark green?
The kale was salvageable. Not yet limp, just not as vital as when it first came home. At first I thought a silky navy bean soup, laced with leaves of kale would be perfect. Creamy, smooth, warming. But the weather was glorious and the sun, hot. I wanted something to snack on. Something delicately light and crunchy. Salty. With a hint of toasted sesame.
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Kale crisps fit the bill perfectly. Now, please don’t get your hopes up thinking that they will be comparable to a crunchy, hard potato chip. They aren’t. What they offer instead is a light, addictive, crumbly bite, rich with toasted sesame seed oil and a hint of salt. It’s never been so easy to eat an entire bunch of kale at one sitting, fresh from the oven and directly from the hot baking sheet. Err. Not that I’ve ever done something crazy like that… (Confession- yes I have) Good thing they’re so easy. And if you do lose control and eat the entire batch in one fell swoop, not to worry. It is kale, after all. Phew.
*TIP*
Remove the stems for the chips, as the stems don’t crisp up as easily as the leaves do. You can cut them out with a knife, or, place one hand on the kale stem, and the other hand at the base of the leaves. Make a tight fist and slide the hand up, along the kale stem. It will easily remove the leaves from the stem- fast and easy and no knives required!
A quick note: The Sunday evening cooking classes in April are almost sold out- with only one space remaining! If you’re thinking about taking that class you’ll have to act quickly!
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I’m planning on making kale crisps this week, since kale is my March vegetable for my “vegetable of the month” challenge. Your recipe looks perfect and tasty!
Hi Heather! Yay kale chips!! I love kale so much. One of my favourite ways to make it is to blanch it quickly, for just a minute or two, and then sprinkle it with gomashio- which is a sesame seed and salt condiment, plus maybe a tiny drizzle of olive oil… yummy!!!
LOVE these!!!!! I must confess I’m not really a fan of kale. I’ll put it in things for the nutritional bennifet but not just on its own. These Chips I loved!! I also cut the stems out which made them extra light. And no, they didn’t make it off the cookie sheet. 😉
Hi Heidi! YAY!! I’m so happy you made these! Aren’t they delish?!! I also cut out the stems… can’t believe I forgot to include that in the recipe!! I’ll have to write a note as an update!! Also- if you hold the kale at the bottom of the stem, and then with the other hand make a tight fist around the base of the kale leaves, then slide up, it will easily pull off the leaves without having to use a knife! Saves time… just make sure you aim the moving fist away from your chin!!