The superfood band wagon

There has been quite a bit of noise lately about kale being a superfood. Now, I am no expert, but in an effort to get back in touch with the healthy(ish) end of the cooking spectrum, and bracing myself for my next herbalist appointment (that will involve an iridology reading, which doesn’t lie and I’m conscious that I will have nowhere to hide), I decided I should experiment. When I heard via a friend that kale can be turned into a chip, I was sold. It was also helpful that now that the weather has turned a little cooler kale was not too tricky to track down at my local health food shop.

Be warned that cooking your kale chips will stink out your kitchen (think cabbage cooking). If you can go with it, get past the smell and focus on the end goal, you will be rewarded with some tasty chips. You can pimp your kale chips in the flavour stakes any way you like. I did two batches. One batch I sprinkled with a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and these chips were hot! The other batch used the zest of a lemon (because I like all things citrus) and after consulting with my spice collection, a teaspoon of Herbie’s Spices Fish Cake spice mix (which is made up of coriander seed, sumac, fennel, mace, ginger, lemon myrtle, dill, parsley and pepperberry). Get creative and feel free to experiment with your favourite flavours. Or stick to classic salt and pepper.

I used rice bran oil because it has no cholesterol, has a neutral flavour and has a high smoke point so it is good for cooking. The Not Quite Nigella blog had a great tip for your leftover kale stalks, you could use the leftover stalks in a similar way to asparagus.

You could munch on your kale chips as they are, or accompanied by your favourite dip (as a bit of random trivia chips are called crisps in the UK). The cooled chips will also keep in an airtight container for a couple of days (if you can hang onto them for that long).

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of rice bran oil
• 1 bunch of kale
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon Herbie’s Spices Fish Cake Spice Mix
• Zest of 1 lemon

Method

• Pre-heat your oven to 160°C.
• Wash and dry your kale.

• Chop your kale into slightly larger than bite size pieces (there will be a shrinkage factor), avoiding the stems.

• Transfer your kale pieces to a large bowl, add oil and salt and pepper.

• Toss to combine.
• Divide the coated kale pieces between two baking trays.
• To one tray, sprinkle over the lemon zest and Herbie’s Spices Fish Cake spice mix.

• To the other tray, sprinkle over the cayenne pepper.

• Put your trays into the oven.
• After 15 minutes, toss your kale pieces to ensure they cook evenly.
• Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or so until crispy and chip like.

• Once your chips are crisp, remove from the tray and drain on paper towel to absorb any excess oil until cool.
• Your chips are ready to serve. Enjoy.

What is your favourite chip flavour? Has this post inspired any new ideas?