Thursday 10 November 2011

Kale crisps a fab and tasty alternative to regular crisps

Kale crisps are a great replacement for potatoe crisps they are healthy nutritious and delicious too so you can enjoy with zero guilt

Baked Kale Crisps

Recipe 1

Ingredients

Take 12 large kale leaves, (wash, rub dry and cut in half lengthwise then remove the stem and veins).
1 tablespoon olive or sesame oil
Preheat oven to 250°F. Toss kale leaves with oil in large bowl so they are coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange leaves in single layer on 2 large baking trays.
Bake until crisp, about 30 minutes for flat leaves and up to 33 minutes for wrinkled leaves. Transfer leaves to rack to cool.
You can also cut the Kale into bite size pieces but they look impressive in halves and are great for dips

Recipe 2

Ingredients

1 Large bunch of curly kale, stems removed and leaves chopped roughly
Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Sesame oil (flavoured chilli oil is good too)
Sea Salt (Maldon sea salt flakes are best) to taste
Garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place chopped kale on a baking tray and drizzle with oil, just enough to lightly coat the leaves. Pour a little at a time and evenly distribute oil with your hands –don’t saturate them.
Dust the oil coated leaves with a little sea salt and a little garlic or chilli powder (just to taste you can add more later).
Bake for 10-15 minutes until some of the edges of the leaves turn brown. Remove the tray from the oven and grate some raw halumi or feta over the top so that some of it melts ( this is optional you can make them without the cheese too). Then turn the oven off and allow the kale to dry/cool in the oven. Remove from the oven when they feel crispy or immedaitely if you don’t want them too crispy

Variations

Sprinkle with sesame seeds once they’re baked.
Try chilli or onion powder sprinkled onto the kale before baking.
Sprinkle with marigold bouillon before baking and add more after for flavour
Use any other spices you enjoy or use celery salt for a different flavour.
Add soya, teriyaki or tahini sauce once they are cooked just before eating



One of the scariest ingredients in crisps is a by-product of the processing: Acrylamide, a cancer-causing toxic chemical, is created when carbohydrate foods are cooked at high temperatures. Acrylamide forms in crisps and chips cooked at temperatures above 100°C. In 2005 California sued crisp manufacturers for failing to warn consumers about the health risks of acrylamide in their products. The 2005 report "How Potato Chips Stack Up: Levels of Cancer-Causing Acrylamide in Popular Brands of Potato Chips" pointed out the dangers of crisps. Their analysis found that all potato crisp products tested exceeded the legal limit of acrylamide by a minimum of 39 times, and as much as 910 times. This might help to put you off crisps they are addictive for a reason it’s all the chemicals they add to them and potatoes are from the deadly nightshade family so a combo of potatoes and chemicals is doubly addictive. If you love the crunch and the salt you will find these kale crisps are a great alternative.