Kale Chips

March 6, 2010 — Angela

REPRINT FROM: Fairfield Green Food Guide

KALE CHIPS – if you haven’t had them, you have to try them..

Lacinato Kale, aka dinosaur or black kale, turns into “chips” when dressed with olive oil and salt and roasted in a low oven.A member of my CSA sent around a recipe for Tuscan kale chips that had run in Bon Appetit magazine and recommended making them for an unusual yet crispy and satifsying alternative to the usual sauteed or braised kale. I took a quick look at the recipe, and upon discovering that it was by Dan Barber, the chef at Blue Hill, I knew it had to be special. He’s all about fresh, local foods that are minimally manipulated yet incredibly delicious. And I had just been to a tour of Stone Barns and gotten a taste of his food at lunch. The lure was irresistible.  
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Lay the leaves in a single layer so they roast evenly Lay the leaves in a single layer so they roast evenly.  

Technically, this is the easiest recipe to make, yet it yields an end product that belies its simplicity.  

 Tuscan Kale Chips waiting to be eaten Tuscan Kale Chips waiting to be eaten.   

The roasted whole kale leaves, dressed with olive oil and salt, are a beauty to behold, fun to eat, and taste like nothing you’ve had before. The work is in the prep – removing the leaves from them stem. Get your largest kitchen knife and sharpen or hone it before running it down each side of the center rib to remove the leaves.  My only advice on the roasting is that the recipe calls for a 30 minute cooking time and I consistenly cook them for only 20 in a convection oven. So set your timer for 20 minutes and if they feel light and crispy and you can smell them, they’re done. The leaves will turn amber and taste bitter if overcooked.   

After they cook, pick one up with your fingers, crunch off a piece and enjoy the burst of nutty, salty flavor. Serve them with dinner, snack on them, or pack them in a lunch box. I promise you’ll enjoy them and make them again and again. Maybe you’ll even grow some kale next year! It’s the crop that keeps on giving since you can harvest the leaves from the bottom up and continue to harvest as new leaves emerge from the top.  

Interesting variations I haven’t tried yet include sprinkling the kale chips with Parmesan cheese as they finish cooking and dressing them with sesame oil and soy sauce for an Asian rendition. Here’s a link to the original recipe.   Store at room temperature and I don’t recommend reheating; they’re too easy to ruin.

Lacinato Kale, planted square foot gardening style, with a bunny-proof wire cage Lacinato Kale, planted square foot gardening style, with a bunny-proof wire cage.    The one crop, other than lettuce, that did well in my backyard garden this summer was Lacinato kale, the very kind the recipe called for. Having lost my entire crop to the bunnies last year, I had my husband build a special wire cage to sit on top of the raised bed to keep them out! So I headed in the backyard, harvested some of my Tuscan Kale (aka dinosaur or black kale), and got to work.

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Recipes

September 1, 2009 — Angela

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# Meals (Lunch/Dinner) Snacks/Savory Snacks/Sweet (desserts) Beverages
1 Chick Pea Salad Fruit: Any kind Vegan Choc Cake Water
2 Burritos with Veges Apple w/1TB Peanut Butter Chocolate Fugicles Grapefruit/Orange Juice
3 Rice/Beans/with veges Trail Mix Almond Dreams Cups Coffee (with Silk creamer)
4 Soup (Vege) Guacamole w/crackers Raw Carrot Cake Tea
5 Huge Salad w/dressing Celery w/PB Kale chips Almond Mylk
6 Smoothies (fast/easy) Pickles   Chocolate Mylk
7 Pasta with Veges/Chicken Olives   Wine
8 ChickPea Pancakes w/Zuc
Crackers Red Pepper/Walnut 		  Smoothies
9 Stuffed Peppers
Nuts (a handful)
    
10 Zucchini Spaghetti Vege Chips (Pringle like)    
11 4Bean Salad (D&D)      
12 Eggplant (breaded) D&D      
13 Hummus on crackers      
14 Quinoa with Lime      
15 Creamy Cucumber Soup      
16 Cashew Cheezy Pate      
17        
18        
19        
20        
21        
22        
23        
24        
25        
26        
27        
28        
29        
30        
31         
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Salads & Dressings:

Sprouts (how to make them)
Soak Your Nuts

Fiber-licious Eating! (from Garden of Life)

Taco Lettuce WrapsIngredients:Taco “meat”:
2 cups walnuts, soaked
1/3 cup wheat-free tamari soy sauce
1 bunch cilantro
1 Tbsp. cumin powder
½ Tbsp. coriander powderTaco wraps and toppings:
1 head romaine lettuce
3 tomatoes, sliced
3 avocados, sliced
Celtic sea salt to tasteEquipment needed: food processorDirections:
In the afternoon of the day before, soak walnuts overnight in filtered water. Process taco “meat” ingredients in a food processor until the mixture resembles ground taco meat. Stop to scrape sides. Remove and set aside. Wash and choose from crispy lettuce leaves for taco wraps. Prepare avocados and tomatoes. Fill lettuce cavities with taco “meat” and top with toppings. Serve two tacos on a white salad plate with a favorite Mexican seasoning on top. Serves 8.Source: Chef Mandy www.chefmandy.com
Break-fast Salad
This salad is a great way to add deliciously cleansing vegetables and fruits to your diet, including raisins which rate extremely high in the ORAC scale–a measurement for the antioxidant levels in foods. (Keep prepared ingredients refrigerated for easy assembly.)Ingredients:
2 green leaf lettuce leaves, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 stalk celery, diced
1 peach or persimmon, diced
2 bananas, sliced
4 small radishes, diced
1 avocado, diced
Garden of Life Super Seed
1 slice red cabbage, shredded
1 tomato, diced
1 plum or pear, diced
¼ cup raisins
8 dates, diced
1 apple, shredded
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Garden of Life DetoxiFiberDirections:
Layer ingredients in listed order. Arrange salad to include all the ingredients for a colorful display on a white dinner plate. Sprinkle Super Seed and DetoxiFiber over the salad. Serves 8.Source: Chef Mandy www.chefmandy.com
ALT
ALTs (avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes) are made with vegetable-based wraps and contain avocados–a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids including oleic acid, the carotenoid lutein, and significant quantities of the antioxidant vitamin E. The lettuce and tomatoes also add fiber and antioxidants.Flaxnaise:
¼ cup golden flaxseeds, soaked or ½ cup Garden of Life Super Seed
1 cup filtered water
2 tsp. ground mustard powder
¼ cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Garden of Life Lehua Honey
½ teaspoon Celtic sea saltFilling:
2 avocados, sliced
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
2 cups mixed greens
2 tomatoes, slicedEquipment needed: blenderDirections:
Prepare filling ingredients. To make flaxnaise, grind flax seeds to a meal or use Garden of Life Super Seed. Blend ingredients in a blender. Texture should be smooth and not a jelly-like texture. Add filtered water to prevent thickening. Fill wraps with filling and drizzle immediately with Flaxnaise. Serve wraps for a light meal. Serves 8.Source: Chef Mandy www.chefmandy.com

More Recipes below:
Posted in Recipe Overview. Leave a Comment »

Recipe Directory

May 24, 2009 — Angela

Do You See A Red  Star * under the recipe … that means it is (in my opinion) Superb !.

# Meals (Lunch/Dinner) Snacks/Savory Snacks/Sweet (desserts) Beverages
1 Chick Pea Salad Fruit: Any kind Vegan Choc Cake Water
2 Burritos with Veges Apple w/1TB Peanut Butter Chocolate Fugicles Grapefruit/Orange Juice
3 Rice/Beans/with veges Trail Mix (make your own) Almond Dreams Cups Coffee (with Silk creamer)
4 Soup (Vege) Guacamole w/crackers Raw Carrot Cake Tea
5 Huge Salad w/dressing Celery w/PB   Almond Mylk
6 Green Drink Pickles   Chocolate Mylk
7 “Pasta” with POM Olives   Wine
8 ChickPea Pancakes w/Zuc
Crackers Red Pepper/Walnut 		  Smoothies
9 Stuffed Peppers
Nuts (a handful)
    
10 Zucchini Spaghetti Vege Chips (Pringle like)    
11 4Bean Salad (D&D)      
12 Eggplant (breaded) D&D      
13 Hummus on crackers      
14 Quinoa with Lime      
15 Creamy Cucumber Soup      
16 Cashew Cheezy Pate      
17 *Proscuitto & Melon Soup      
18 Rene Oswald–Raw Food Recipe for Kale Chips      
19        
20        
21        
22        
23        
24        
25        
26        
27        
28        
29        
30        
31         
.

Salads & Dressings:

Sprouts (how to make them)
Soak Your Nuts

Fiber-licious Eating! (from Garden of Life)

Taco Lettuce WrapsIngredients:Taco “meat”:
2 cups walnuts, soaked
1/3 cup wheat-free tamari soy sauce
1 bunch cilantro
1 Tbsp. cumin powder
½ Tbsp. coriander powderTaco wraps and toppings:
1 head romaine lettuce
3 tomatoes, sliced
3 avocados, sliced
Celtic sea salt to tasteEquipment needed: food processor

Directions:
In the afternoon of the day before, soak walnuts overnight in filtered water. Process taco “meat” ingredients in a food processor until the mixture resembles ground taco meat. Stop to scrape sides. Remove and set aside. Wash and choose from crispy lettuce leaves for taco wraps. Prepare avocados and tomatoes. Fill lettuce cavities with taco “meat” and top with toppings. Serve two tacos on a white salad plate with a favorite Mexican seasoning on top. Serves 8.

Source: Chef Mandy www.chefmandy.com
Break-fast Salad
This salad is a great way to add deliciously cleansing vegetables and fruits to your diet, including raisins which rate extremely high in the ORAC scale–a measurement for the antioxidant levels in foods. (Keep prepared ingredients refrigerated for easy assembly.)Ingredients:
2 green leaf lettuce leaves, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1 stalk celery, diced
1 peach or persimmon, diced
2 bananas, sliced
4 small radishes, diced
1 avocado, diced
Garden of Life Super Seed
1 slice red cabbage, shredded
1 tomato, diced
1 plum or pear, diced
¼ cup raisins
8 dates, diced
1 apple, shredded
½ cup walnuts, chopped
Garden of Life DetoxiFiberDirections:
Layer ingredients in listed order. Arrange salad to include all the ingredients for a colorful display on a white dinner plate. Sprinkle Super Seed and DetoxiFiber over the salad. Serves 8.Source: Chef Mandy www.chefmandy.com
ALT
ALTs (avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes) are made with vegetable-based wraps and contain avocados–a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids including oleic acid, the carotenoid lutein, and significant quantities of the antioxidant vitamin E. The lettuce and tomatoes also add fiber and antioxidants.Flaxnaise:
¼ cup golden flaxseeds, soaked or ½ cup Garden of Life Super Seed
1 cup filtered water
2 tsp. ground mustard powder
¼ cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Garden of Life Lehua Honey
½ teaspoon Celtic sea saltFilling:
2 avocados, sliced
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
Mrs. Dash seasoning, to taste
2 cups mixed greens
2 tomatoes, slicedEquipment needed: blenderDirections:
Prepare filling ingredients. To make flaxnaise, grind flax seeds to a meal or use Garden of Life Super Seed. Blend ingredients in a blender. Texture should be smooth and not a jelly-like texture. Add filtered water to prevent thickening. Fill wraps with filling and drizzle immediately with Flaxnaise. Serve wraps for a light meal. Serves 8.

Source: Chef Mandy www.chefmandy.com

More Recipes below:

xProsciutto and Melon Soup

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