DSC_6159

The other day I was reading one of those year-end round-ups of annoying things that food bloggers do and halfway down the list was this (paraphrased):

STOP TALKING ABOUT KALE CHIPS OMG.

This made me laugh out loud, because just that morning I had practically dragged my mother into my kitchen to show her how to make kale chips, aren't they amazing, OMG and I couldn't wait to blog about them. I'd made my first batch the night before and they had blown my mind. Then they proceeded to blow hers. So, of course I couldn't wait to tell you all about them, even if I was the last one to the party, by, like, two whole years. And now here someone was telling me to stop talking about them already! They were so over kale chips and these overly enthusiastic food bloggers and their stupid kale!

In case you, like me, have been living under a rock or have just never really trusted that rubbing kale leaves with olive oil and sticking them in the oven would result in something irresistibly delicious OMG I'm not even kidding, then this post is for you.

KALE CHIPS ARE SO DELICIOUS YOU GUYS.

(Is this the best food blog post you have ever read, or what?)

DSC_6169

First thing you have to do is buy really nice, fresh kale. (Incidentally, it's the one leafy green that is not hard to find here in my beloved city because Berliners love themselves some curly kale. In winter, it's all over the place here, packaged up in 5-kilo bags to be stewed for hours along with coarse sausage called Pinkel (which also means to urinate? Which, uh, is neither here nor there.)) Back home, you strip the leaves off the ribs and discard the ribs. Then you wash the leaves and dry them carefully (I use the salad spinner and then I dab the remaining moisture off with a paper towel or two). You put the dried leaves on a sheet pan in a single layer, scatter some fine salt over them and drizzle them with a tiny bit of olive oil. Then you get your hands dirty, massaging the olive oil into the kale so that every square millimeter of leaf glistens darkly.

DSC_6177

Then you stick the pan in the hot oven and set the timer for 10 minutes, checking every once in a while to make sure that the leaves aren't going black. When they're ready, the kale chips will still look mostly like they did before, albeit a little more cooked. But when you put one in your mouth, it will shatter like a potato chip! A virtuous potato chip, though! And it will be delicious! All roasty-toasty and nutty, salty and delicious! You will probably eat the entire pan clean before your cohabitors even get wind of what fantastical treat just passed them by. And then you will spend the rest of the day dragging people into your kitchen to show them the kitchen magic you know how to do.

KALE CHIPS FOR EVERYONE, NOT JUST ANNOYING FOOD BLOGGERS!

I used this video and the accompanying comments for guidance on making them.

Posted in , ,

49 responses to “Kale Chips”

  1. multikulinaria Avatar

    Thanks Luisa for not having stopped talking about Kale chips. Your post was the drop of water to get the bucket to overflow and convinced me to try Kale chips, whom I’d read about a few times before… There is no Kale to be found in my neighbourhood, but it’s almost Brandenburg anyway. 😉

    Like

  2. la ninja Avatar

    ha ha ha. I must have been living under a rock too, so ta very much.
    I live in one of your germany’s neighbouring countries, the netherlands, and this time of year we are surrounded by kale too. “boerenkool stampot” is the national dish so I’m glad to have read about this “new” (to me too) twist on eating kale.
    just ordered your book yesterday evening too 🙂
    (one totally off the topic question. what do you make of rachel khoo? just wondering.)

    Like

  3. Melissa Avatar
    Melissa

    Ha ha! I just read that same article – which, to be honest, I found a bit ridiculous. I’ll never understand why some people think it’s ok to put other people down.
    Keep doing what you’re doing, Luisa! I love the way you write, even if it is about Kale Chips! 😉

    Like

  4. Birge Avatar

    They are great for toddlers too! who doesn’t love some crispy green chips??

    Like

  5. jackied Avatar
    jackied

    I deeply love kale chips. Omg.

    Like

  6. Dawn Avatar

    I think the Gospel of Kale Chips needs to be spread far and wide…there are still many hearts to be won. Keep up the good work, Sister Luisa!

    Like

  7. Selkie Avatar
    Selkie

    Hint: salt AFTER cooking, as salt draws too much moisture too quickly (or something), I find. Crispier if salted after cooking!

    Like

  8. Victoria Avatar

    Well, these sound horrible to me, and I haven’t succumbed to the ranting about them, but now it’s YOU talking, and, and, after all, you are the source of THOSE meatballs, which get so much better and lighter each time I make them that I’m going to have to tie down the cover to my pot so the meatballs don’t just levitate right out of the pot and up to the ceiling.
    Okay, now I’ll try them.
    Happy New Year.

    Like

  9. Carol Snyder Avatar

    Perfect! I was just wondering what I would do with the rest of my large bag of kale, after being a little disappointed with a kale sautee I made. I will give it a try today… and then will have to decide whether to be quiet about it or not! 😉

    Like

  10. Laura @ Chaotic Domestic Avatar

    My husband has been really into kale lately. But believe it or not, we have not yet made kale chips. Perhaps we’ll do that this week, since I’m sure he’ll come home with kale sometime soon!

    Like

  11. ga447 Avatar

    Kale and pinkel wurst has been a Christmas Eve tradition for years. I am making a pot full next week.

    Like

  12. Marilyn H Avatar
    Marilyn H

    Kale and pinkelwurst is our traditional Christmas Eve dinner also. But, here in Queens, NY, it’s not as easy to find kale. I remember my first trip to Germany to visit relatives. While my father and grandparents came from Bremerhaven, these relatives lived in Munich. When they asked what sort of German food we ate at home and I answered, “pinkel wurst”, they burst out laughing. I had no clue of its alternate meaning. When I got back to New York my grandfather was very irritated with their “rude” reaction to his granddaughter! 🙂

    Like

  13. Ashley Avatar

    I still love kale chips and don’t mind in the least that you’re talking about them! I was amazed the first time I made them, and I’m certain it’s what got me on board with kale.

    Like

  14. Giulia Avatar

    I still despise Kale, I’ve tried Kale Chips, tried several recipes because I wanted to eat something so healthy and wonderful, but I just can’t do it. I guess there are just some things I’ll never like.

    Like

  15. evy Avatar
    evy

    I’ve been wanting to try this, but couldn’t believe that they would taste good. Now that The Wednesday Chef says they do, I will make them- since everything I have tried from this blog is always great!

    Like

  16. Ali Avatar
    Ali

    I made these a few months ago after seeing them on Melissa Clark’s blog and Ina Garten’s new Foolproof book. Like you I’d heard about them and kept meaning to make them but…. When I finally did get to them, they were fabulous. I thought they tasted like a light and crunchy potato chip but was really better than a potato chip that melted in your mouth and didn’t have the aftertaste. I finally got my Mom to taste and she loved them, but everyone else just wrinkled their noses and refused. They don’t know what they are missing!!

    Like

  17. Mai Lowe Avatar
    Mai Lowe

    hahaha 🙂 this was one of your funniest posts Luisa, I loved it. I love kale but not kale chips actually and don’t totally understand the rave. But – to each their own! So glad you enjoyed them and it is so fun when you find a treat that is super quick to make! Thanks again so much for the frequent posts!! I get so happy when I see a new one up :).

    Like

  18. Tiffany Avatar
    Tiffany

    This was, like, totally one of the best food blog posts like EVER! Ha! I loves me some kale chips mmmm….

    Like

  19. Little Kitchie Avatar

    This post made me laugh! I still haven’t tried making kale chips at home, but since they’re SO DELICIOUS, I’ll have to soon! 😉

    Like

  20. Rocky Mountain Woman Avatar

    I have never tried them! So I will this weekend for sure and then I can drag people in my kitchen also.
    YOU ARE NEVER ANNOYING!!!!!
    xxoo,
    RMW

    Like

  21. Sasa Avatar

    I always want to make these but kale is well nigh impossible to find in NZ. Wail.

    Like

  22. kate Avatar
    kate

    I love your blog! Also-what oven temp do you roast the kale chips? If you’ve marked it I am sorry I can’t seem to find it.(And I apologize if I am annoying and it’s obvious!) 🙂

    Like

  23. tunie Avatar
    tunie

    If you love them like this – with salt, then whatever you do, do not dip them in spicy, lemony cashew sauce and then bake them!

    Like

  24. Kris Avatar
    Kris

    You are awesome. That’s all.

    Like

  25. sarah Avatar
    sarah

    i like them so much better with a slice of nutty parmesan to go with! so good.

    Like

  26. linda Avatar

    It blows my mind that I can eat an entire bunch of kale if I make chips. I just can’t stop. So delicious!

    Like

  27. Stoich91 Avatar
    Stoich91

    YUM A LUM! Kale chips are the bomb. I know this is besides the point and whatever, but seriously they are souper healthy for you and if you can pull a fast one on potato chips and make these the love of your life forever…well, the diabetes rate will go down in America. Like. Proven. Or whatever. ;D

    Like

  28. Jude Avatar
    Jude

    They are surprisingly delicious and great with some chilli too. I was late to the party, only trying them about two months ago. I loved your book and recommended it to my book club, who loved it too!

    Like

  29. Lynn Avatar

    I made kale chips for the first time just a couple of months ago (so delicious, a revelation!), when I FINALLY found some kale that wasn’t pre-chopped and plastic-bagged. Here in the Netherlands, as la ninja said, it is a popular mashed-with-potatoes veg, but finding it whole is a huge undertaking; all the supermarkets sell it – and chicory as well – cut into tiny bits…
    I loved this post! 🙂

    Like

  30. Miss T Avatar
    Miss T

    So Kale = Gruenkohl?
    I heard all about Kale but was not really sure what is the “substitute” in Germany.

    Like

  31. melinda Avatar
    melinda

    I love kale chips – one way to assure eating an entire head of kale in a sitting. Inspiring post to eat well in 2013. 🙂

    Like

  32. Luisa Avatar

    Miss T – Yes, curly kale is Grünkohl!

    Like

  33. Kateryna Avatar
    Kateryna

    Thank you Luisa for your blog and your book! We were cooking today the meetballs in tomato souse. And recently I thought to search for something to cook instead of having chips for my boyfriend. And now we would like to try those greeny chips.
    All the best in 2013!

    Like

  34. Janice Avatar
    Janice

    Luisa, kale chips are amazing! And yes season them after baking. It’s Meyer lemon time in my stores in Va. Any good ideas ??

    Like

  35. mcc Avatar
    mcc

    Excellent post! We’ve been making kale chips for at least 18 months now and we have yet to NOT exclaim (upon pulling them out of the oven and popping them in our mouths), “OMG, kale chips! Aren’t they amazing?”

    Like

  36. Bea Avatar
    Bea

    Kale chips sounds great, but Prinkel with Braunkohl (that’s the way kale looks after it’s cooked, that the way it’s called in Bremen in northern Germany). I am from a town near Hamburg and no Pinkel sausage there. Gruenkohl with kochwurst and kassler, that’s what we used to eat at Christmas.
    Love your book, bought it in Seattle at University Book Store.

    Like

  37. nina Avatar
    nina

    Pinkel in this case is the noun, not the verb, or what you pinkel with when you pinkel. This is obvious if you are a man.

    Like

  38. Kelly Avatar
    Kelly

    Soooo, I’ve bought and thrown out Kale a half dozen times (it got all floppy before I had a chance to do anything with it) Now, I am bound and determined to make Kale chips so I searched and found you, and your understanding of having not tried them after everyone in the world has….thank you! Besides, you had me at Berliner! I am a Bavarian.

    Like

  39. orcagna Avatar
    orcagna

    Please do solve one of my biggest food mysteries – I always equated kale with the Italian cavolo nero, but was never sure if the German equivalent was Grünkohl (sounds like it from your mention of Pinkel) or Wirsing. Can you enlighten me? Thanks so much!!!

    Like

  40. Luisa Avatar

    orcagna – there are several different types of kale. Grünkohl is standard curly kale. Cavolo nero (also known as Tuscan kale in the US or lacinato) is Palmenkohl in German (there are other names, too, but that seems to be the most “common” for a quite uncommon vegetable here). Wirsing is Savoy cabbage.

    Like

  41. Nicole Avatar

    Your mention of Pinkel made me giggle. It reminds me of when I first learned of Darmstadt, which literally means “intestine city”. Ah, the joys of learning and understanding foreign languages…

    Like

  42. dervla @ The Curator Avatar

    ha, i’ve never tried them either, so clearly I’m way behind the trend also 🙂

    Like

  43. heather Avatar

    i’ve heard using cooking spray works well too! now if i could just not burn these babies… maybe that will be my resolution to not burn my kale chips 🙂 happy new year!

    Like

  44. Sally Avatar
    Sally

    I haven’t made kale chips, but my daughter did. I thought they were delicious.

    Like

  45. Karen Avatar

    Thanks for the tip to massage the oil into the kale. I’ve made these before but they didn’t come out quite right. Now I know why!

    Like

  46. RG Avatar
    RG

    I feel like I’m missing the virtue here. The kale to oil ratio is suspiciously low, and each pan seems to produce small amounts. It’s fine if you’re hanging out in your kitchen all day anyway, but it’s not exactly a convenient snack to make while watching TV or doing housework away from the oven. Maybe someone could make an oven-cam that would let me check the chips without actually getting up from the sofa?

    Like

  47. Jeannette Avatar
    Jeannette

    Do you have a recipe for this lemony cashew sauce? Sounds wonderful!

    Like

  48. aromatherapy Avatar
    aromatherapy

    I love your blog!!I love kale chips – one way to assure eating an entire head of kale in a sitting.Thank you for sharing.

    Like

Leave a comment