Crispy Oven-Baked Kale Chips

I'm in an organic farm share with some friends. There are four of us who have pitched in to buy one share of organic produce. Each week we get fresh, organic, locally grown vegetables. The great thing about it is that the produce is not only organic, but much cheaper than what we could buy at the store.

The challenging part is that we have no say in what produce we get, so we often end up with vegetables that perhaps we've never heard of, or if we have heard of them, we've never cooked them before. This leads to a great deal of experimentation in the kitchen. Although challenging, it has been fun to experiment and try out new vegetables. One such vegetable that was new for me was kale. To my delight, I've found that kale is a delicious vegetable when cooked properly. This article contains my new favorite kale recipe for crispy kale chips.

Crispy Kale Chips

Although admittedly perhaps not as healthy as some kale recipes, kale chips are so delicious, no one I've served them to has been able to resist. Here's how you make them:

1 bunch of kale

1 tbsp. olive oil

Salt to taste

Rinse the kale. Pat it dry, or better yet, use a salad spinner to get rid of any water. You want the kale leaves to be completely dry.

Remove the tough stem that is in the middle of the kale and tear the kale into large bite-sized pieces. Drizzle the kale with olive oil, hand toss, and then spread the kale out in a single layer on a cookie sheet.

Place the kale in a preheated 325 degree oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the kale is crispy and brittle when touched. Depending on how fast your oven cooks, and how much oil you used, it may take a bit longer to cook. You want to bake the kale until it is crispy, but not brown. Kale that has been allowed to brown will have a slightly bitter taste.

Once the kale is crispy, remove it from the oven and sprinkle it with salt. Be sure not to salt the kale until after it bakes. The salt pulls the moisture out of the kale and may make it mushy instead of crisp if you salt the kale before baking.

I love serving these crispy baked kale chips with sandwiches and burgers instead of potato chips or French fries. They also make an excellent snack.