Kirtan at the Grammies! And we were invited to dinner with friends and had been assigned an appetizer. What goes with Krishna Das?
I have been eating kale chips from different cooks for half a year now, and only just found the ones I wanted to replicate. Total crunch, light as air and just a lingering aftertaste of vegetal bliss and whatever seasonings are added. I had cruised the ashram kitchen during preparation and begged to be left a sample. Two days later I picked it up -- still crunchy! Still tasty! This was it!
Making kale chips is a lot of fun. You get to mess with the materials, you get your hands dirty, you can open the oven constantly -- I know -- and still produce a diminuitive masterpiece. Yes, be warned, a bunch of kale reduced to chips doesn't go very far. But it's worth it, a celebration of good times from start to finish.
My memory held a subliminal impression of the recipe's main points: slow oven, minimal preparation. After a Web search, I decided on an independent course of action. One bunch of curly kale, washed and spun till very dry, stalks removed and leaves ripped into bite-sized pieces. Drizzle a little olive oil, toss lightly with the hands, scatter the pieces loosely -- less and less loosely as I decided it would all fit on one baking sheet -- and bake slowly, at 300 degrees, for half an hour. Open the oven to sprinkle with salt with a very little cayenne mixed in. Open again, to move the leaves around as the ones in the center seemed soggy and the ones at the edges blackened. Check, and check again, till the kale pieces really were light and crunchy. Take some out, and leave others in a little longer. Really, all that busyness isn't called for, but it doesn't wreck the cooking, either. And it's true what they say of kale chips: there is a narrow margin between done and burnt.
They came out great. I waltzed into my friend's kitchen with them. And there, on the table, was a big bowl of -- kale chips!
So I am giving you two recipes to try. My friend's technique? "450 degrees for 10 minutes. And --" she added -- "I massaged every leaf with oil." Hers were less crunchy, more colorful, and had more kale taste. Mine were dark, crunchy and light as air. Mine stayed crisp; hers, like French fries, had to be eaten right away or went limp and chewy. Both were excellent. So here are the two classic approaches to kale chips: There is no middle ground.
THIN AND CRISP KALE CHIPS
1 bunch curly kale
olive oil
salt mixed with a pinch of cayenne
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Wash kale, remove stalks and dry kale leaves very thoroughly.
Tear kale into bite-sized pieces. In a large bowl, drizzle olive oil over kale and toss lightly to coat. Add salt and toss again.
Scatter kale leaves over oiled cookie sheet.
Place pan in the middle of the oven. In a regular oven, the kale chips at the edges will crisp first, so rearrange placement after 15 minutes.
Bake at 300 degrees for half an hour, checking frequently after 20 minutes and removing leaves as they crisp.
Put all the kale chips in a bowl and serve.
FAST AND JUICY KALE CHIPS
1 bunch curly kale
olive oil
kosher salt
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Wash kale and dry thoroughly. Strip leaves from stalks and tear into pieces.
Rub each piece with olive oil; people call it "massaging" the leaf.
Spread kale pieces on cookie sheet or baking pan. Sprinkle liberally with kosher salt.
Place pan in center of oven. Bake for 10 minutes.
Remove pan. Immediately place kale chips in a bowl. Serve.
