Kale Chips
INGREDIENTS
- 1 bunch of Curley Kale (I’ve also used Lacinato Kale before too, but I think the Curley turns out better – that is the typical kind of kale in the grocery store)
- About a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- spices of your choice
DIRECTIONS
Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees F. If you have a convection over, you can also turn on the convection feature. You’ll need 2 cookie sheets and I recommend a food brush or a sprayer (such as olive oil in a spray can) for the olive oil.
You’ll want to pull the kale leaves apart and clean them off. You’ll then want to dry them really well. I just get some dish towels out, put them on the counter and lay the kale on them and then put more dish towels over top to dry them. The dryer they are, the easier they’re going to be to bake.
Once dry, cut up the kale into “chip size” pieces with kitchen scissors. If you’re so inclined, you can line your cookie sheets with parchment paper but it’s not necessary. Lay the kale pieces out on a cookie sheet so that they’re close together (so you can fit as many as possible) but not touching.
If you’re using the food brush, fill a small bowl with a little bit of olive oil. Don’t use a lot of oil–you don’t want to saturate these pieces. You just want a very light amount, enough for seasonings to help stick better to the kale leaves. If you’re using olive oil in a sprayer, just a very light spray over the leaves is all that’s necessary.
Next step is to sprinkle your salt and spices over the kale. It’s really up to you how much you use. I just take pinches of spices or salt and hand sprinkle them over the pieces. Place the cookie sheets in the oven (if you have a large oven, you can put both in on the same rack – if you don’t, do them one at a time).
Bake for about 20 minutes, but half way through you’ll want to check on these. Oven temps vary A LOT and it’s easy to burn these pieces. So the 20 minutes is a general estimate. You’ll need to play around to find the perfect time for your oven. I get some tongs and test the pieces to see if they’re crispy. As soon as they test crispy take them out of the oven. Let them cool and you can eat them right away or store them in an air tight container for up to a couple days.