These kale chips are easy to make and so healthy that I ate mine for breakfast- yes really! These kale chips consist of nothing more than kale, olive oil, vinegar, salt and herbs, so they make for great eating at any time of the day or night!
My kale plants were looking really good this year, better than ever really, until a few days ago. They were starting to get holes, so I checked them and of course it was caterpillars from the white butterflies that were doing the damage.
Sadly the nasturtiums I had planted next to the kale to deter the white butterflies were dying back, so it was logical that the kale was starting to suffer.
I knew I needed to use the kale quickly, so I decided I would make these kale chips.
This is the basic recipe I always use when I want to make it easy on myself, but you can make it as elaborate as you wish, with more ingredients or even a coating of ground cashews.
But for this recipe I’ll stick to the basics and keep the flavour pure.
Make sure you check the kale leaves thoroughly for the caterpillars, as they are good at hiding in the nooks and crannies of the kale leaves. You can easily miss them and end up eating a little more protein than you would like… Although caterpillars are a delicacy in some countries, I prefer my kale chips without them.
So let’s go into the kitchen and make these kale chips!
Kale Chips
Equipment
- Baking dish or tray
- baking paper
Ingredients
- Large bunch Kale
- Olive oil (extra virgin)
- Vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
- Salt (I used a smoked sea salt)
- Italian herbs (I used oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 100 degrees celcius, fan setting. You can also use a temperature as low as your oven will go, or use a dehydrator. This will save more nutrients, but takes longer to bake/dehydrate.
- First wash and check your kale really well for caterpillars
- Remove the stems (save those for your smoothie or incorporate in a stew) and tear the leaves into pretty large pieces. Don't make the pieces too small, because they shrink in the oven while baking
- You can put the pieces into a bowl to coat them, but I skipped that step and just coated the pieces right on the baking tray. Put a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and a dash of (apple cider) vinegar on the kale pieces and mix and massage until every piece is nicely coated. Now add a pinch of salt and the quantity of Italian herbs as you like and mix. The amount you use depends on the amount of kale pieces and your own preference and taste. So start with a little and you can always add more if needed.The flavours will develop and get stronger while baking, so do a taste test and if the seasonings are just a little bit milder than you prefer, it is perfect.
- Put the kale pieces in a single layer on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Try not to overlap the pieces too much as this will lengthen the baking time and you won't get the same crispy result.
- Bake for about one hour. Open the over door about every 10 to 15 minutes to let the moisture out.
- Check after 45 minutes if they are crispy to the touch. If not, put them back in. You want a really crispy and light feeling- as if they would fly away in a gust of wind.
- When they are ready, let them cool down just a little. You can eat them still warm, or of course wait until they are completely cool.
- Store in an airtight container and eat whenever you want. Enjoy!
