I know I have been late on the kale “chips” bandwagon. Cooking wise, I am more than happy to stick to sauteed kale. With a little olive oil and chopped garlic…it is simply irresistable. As the saying goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. In this instance, I wouldn’t want to change how I handle kale.
Now if the story ended right then, there will not be a post on kale chips. Obviously.
The kale chips story begins when I neglected a bunch of fresh kale in my fridge. It happens. Since it is too expensive to let my kale to wilt and end up in the tip, I mass produced kale chips in effort to save them from a wasteful ending. In the end, it turned out to be the reason I need to attempt making kale chips and boy I didn’t regret the decision!
Is it just me or kale chips can be easily demolished in one sitting…? To bulk it up a little, I added roasted nuts. My previous effort also includes some dried cranberries and nuts…. you know, like trail mix and it was delicious. As I am a savoury girl at heart, I am proud to present the savoury version of the kale chips and nut mix infused with rosemary and smoked paprika.
Kale Chips & Nut Mix
What you’ll need:-
- Olive oil
- Smoked paprika
- Rosemary, finely chopped
- Kale (I used cavolo nero, but you can use the curly leaved ones if you can find them)
- Raw mixed nuts or your preferred nuts (I used Macro Natural Raw Mixed nuts)
- Salt to taste
Method:-
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius/ 338 degrees F. Line baking tray with baking paper. Mix olive oil, smoked paprika and chopped rosemary in a small bowl. Set aside. Slice the tip of kale leaves into smaller pieces. Then start triming the “leaf” part from the stem when you reach the tougher section (see photo above for further guidance). Repeat with the remaining kale. Toss kale with seasoned oil and salt in a large bowl and arrange the kale on the baking tray. Make sure they don’t overlap. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are crispy. Transfer the kale chips to a flat plate. Then toss the raw nuts with oil and roast for 10 minutes. To serve: mix the kale chips with the roasted nuts.
I’ve read so much about kale chips and now that I have access to kale again I’m excited to try them. Thanks for the reminder and helpful tips!
No worries! 🙂 It is so easy to make that I can forsee many kale chips in my kitchen in days to come ha!
I’ve made Kale Chips twice now and found it SO bitter both times…but I didn’t take the leaf off the stalk – is that my problem do you think? I’ve never cooked with Kale any other way either – your “go to method” sounds pretty good.
The reason I took off the stalk is because I find it fibrous with the chips. And perhaps it adds to the bitterness to. Mind you, kale has a very slight bitterness to begin with. Do you salt the kale before you bake them? I find it helps to reduce the bitterness as compared to adding salt after they are baked.