Salt & vinegar kale chips from In Praise of Veg
Servings: 4 as a snack
This is easily my favourite way to eat kale –either as a kitchen snack, as a garnish for something creamier, or popped in a bowl alongside other shareable starters. One complaint from aficionados is that at-home kale chips can often lose their crispiness and turn to sog within a day or so. Fear not, fellow frilly-fry lover. Flick them back into the oven at 100°C (200°F) for another 5 minutes or so, and they’ll crisp right back up.
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Ingredients
- 350 g 12 oz curly kale (see tip), washed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160℃ (140℃ fan)
- Shake the kale leaves as dry as possible. Use your hands to strip the leaves from the stalks of the kale, working from the thicker base upwards in a swift motion. If the leaves are still a little wet, feel free to give them a final pat dry with paper towel or using a salad spinner.
- Tear the leaves into pieces, place in a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
- Spread the kale in a single layer on several wire racks set over lined baking trays. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the chips ‘snap’ between your fingertips.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool and crisp up before serving.
Notes
You can use any type of kale or other brassica leaf, but it works best with curly kale because you get all those fun, frilly edges.
Shortcut
You can microwave the kale chips on high, between layers of paper towel – but they do have a propensity to catch on fire, thanks to something known as ‘local field amplification’. That’s where the sharp, uneven edges and naturally occurring metals (actual iron) in the kale can cause smoking and sparks! To avoid this, microwave in minute-long bursts and monitor carefully. Or, just bake them in the oven.
