salt and vinegar kale chip recipe

I know, I know. Before you say anything, I know I’m way behind the eight-ball on last years kale chip craze. Call me out of fashion if you will. I won’t take offence.
It’s just that I’ve never had my hands on enough kale at one time to bother with making them 🙂
It seemed like every blogger worth their money was waxing lyrical about the wonders of the humble kale chip last year. I read, and read and read more and more about these little chips last year that I felt an expert on the topic without having even had the pleasure of eating them yet!

For someone that doesn’t tries not to eat potato chips all that often these are somewhat of a revelation. You know how if you buy natural thin cut crisps with the skin still intact, they shatter into your mouth the second your tongue pushes them in? Well these are just the same. The somewhat thick and chewy nature of raw and even cooked kale simply disappears on baking, rendering them thin, salty and perfectly crisp. You are even left with the same satisfyingly oily mouth-feel, as chippy crumbs fall from you mouth and stick to your hands.

Ada and I made these while all the younger kids were having their day-nap. It was the perfect job for my sous-chef to help out with. Washing, trimming, and drying are all lovely little jobs for her to do. Knowing how much she would enjoy massaging the oil/vinegar mix in I gave her her very own bowl of kale to “play” while I got onto getting the first tray into the oven. 12 minutes later we were tucking into our very first salt and vinegar kale chips. “These taste just like real chips mum, only better. And much healthier too eh mum?” That’s my girl.

Once the littlies had awoken I offered a few to Kye. He took one look at them, screwed up his nose, opened his mouth, chewed-slowly, and then spat out. Ah, that’s my boy.
After the little cousins and Ada got into them however, Kye asked once more for a try. This time he gave them more than half a chance, deciding he loved them after all. Dan, my little nephew who barely speaks a word of English was even heard saying “more, please” his little hand outstretched to Ada wanting more. It seems I’ll have to make these again really soon, but probably a double batch I’m thinking 😉
I’m also thinking a mix of lemon or lime juice in place of the vinegar, perhaps a little crack of black pepper would go nicely too. Or smoked paprika? The variations are endless. Have you discovered kale chips yet? If so what’s you favourite way to make/eat them?

salt and vinegar kale chips
Any kind of kale can be used here, curly Scot’s kale or cavolo nero; also known as Tuscan kale or laciniato. Any vinegar can be used in place of the cider vinegar. I think a little lemon or lime juice and perhaps a crack of black pepper would also be nice adaptions.
Serves as many or as little as you like 😉

• 1 bunch kale (approx 10 large handfuls of trimmed leaves)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• sea salt to sprinkle

 Pre-heat oven to 150 C/300 F.

Wash kale well, tear leaves away from the thick inner stem and discard stems. Give the leaves a whirl in a salad spinner to remove excess water, or if like me, you don’t own one; simply lay the leaves out onto a clean tea towel, wrap up like you would a lolly, twisting the ends to secure. Go outside and shake the hell out of it, until all the water stop spraying everywhere! I did this in two batches. Go inside, then check to make sure they are as dry as can be, use another tea towel to gently dry the last remaining water droplets off if need be.

Tear or slice kale leaves into bit sized “chips” and place into a large bowl, or two.

Whisk olive oil and cider vinegar together in a small bowl and pour evenly over the kale. Now comes the best bit (for little and big kids alike!)… get your hands into it and gently massage all that lovely dressing into every nook and cranny. Spread out a single layer of kale onto a oven tray (you may need to do this in two-three batches) sprinkle a little sea salt over the top and bake for 10-15 minutes, turning the leaves once during cooking if the outer ones are starting to brown too much. Cool for half a second before digging in! Repeat until all the chips are cooked and eaten.

To see my updated kale chip post click here.