Curried Kale Chips

This recipe was such a crowd pleaser on the Fourth of July, that I decided to write about it.  The party took place on a boat, so I wanted to contribute snacks that were easily portable and even easier to eat with minimal mess.  I thought and thought all day about what to bring.  I scoured through cookbooks.  I debated on homemade beet chips.  But I am still trying to perfect that recipe.  I wanted to bring a tried and true recipe that was sure to please a variety of palates.  It had to a be a flavorful, salty snack that tasted like a snack food, but was secretly healthy.  Kale chips fit the criteria perfectly.  Crispy little treats that have the crunch of a potato chip, but the vitamins and nutrients from a vegetable.  I decided to jazz them up a bit by adding curry spices, which makes this an evolved version of the Kale Chips Post from last fall. 

As you can probably tell, I have been using green kale pretty frequently these days.  It seems to be popping up at every farmer's market I attend, and am immediately drawn to it.  But I encourage you to play around with other types of kale or other sturdy greens.  I had dinosaur kale chips at a restaurant before, and they made for a different texture.  I am not sure how collard greens would turn out, but that may be worth a try.

But among all the great qualities these little chips provide, one of the best is the portability factor.  I let them sit out on the baking sheet for probably 30 minutes so they were completely cooled and crispy.  Then I popped them in a zip lock bag and was on my way.  They would be great for a lunch bag treat, party appetizer or popcorn replacement for movie time.  And always opt for more rather than less when deciding how many bunches to buy.  They act like Shrinky Dinks in the oven.

Curried Kale Chips

Yields 1 appetizer plateful

You really can spice up your kale chips with any type of flavoring.  Below is what I did to create a curried version.  One important note:  no matter what spices you choose, really dig in with your hands when blending the oil and spices into the kale leaves.  Make sure every little leaf get attention.  Otherwise you will have some really spicy bites, and really dull other bites.

1 bunch green kale, washed, de-stemmed and cut into big chunks

1 tsp curry powder

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Gather all of your kale and drop into a large bowl.  In a small bowl or ramekin, mix all the spices (curry through salt) together.  Drizzle 1 tsp of oil onto the kale.  Pour about half of the spice mixture on top of that.  With your (clean) hands, thoroughly massage the oil and spices into the kale leaves.  Pour in the other teaspoon of oil, with the rest of the spices following suit.  Repeat the massage until every leaf seems to have gotten enough attention.

Place the dressed kale on a Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Evenly distribute the leaves throughout the pan.  Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.  When this time is up, open oven, toss the leaves with tongs.  Roast for another 3 minutes.  They should all be crispy and slightly darker in color.  Pull out of oven and let sit for a few minutes for them to do their last crisping.