Home Cooking: Kale Chips (4 Feb 2013)

Quick and easy kale chips

I love discovering simple and healthy recipes and this Kale Chips Recipe by Dani Spies from Clean and Delicious couldn't be easier. I've heard kale is supposed to be very good for you so anything that makes it taste even better was worth a go. I'm pretty sure many home cooks have already been making kale chips for years but this is the first time I've ever made them. Simply wash your kale leaves, dry them and pull off the leafy bits from the stalk. Break up into small pieces and mix in a bowl with some olive oil and salt. The olive oil spreads easily so you don't need to use too much. Spread the kale over a baking tray and pop in a preheated oven at around 180-200 degrees celsius for about 15 minutes. At first I thought they'd burn but the olive oil seems to protect them well and they crisp up nicely. Timing may vary depending on your oven so keep checking them and once crisp they're pretty much ready to eat. Trust me, they tasted a lot better than they looked.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Tasty way to eat your healthy kale, Easy recipe, Only three ingredients required to make

CONS: Hands get oily from mixing the kale with olive oil

MUST TRY: Finding other ways of cooking with kale
VERDICT: Easy and tasty recipe that makes eating kale enjoyable

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Wash and dry kale

Separate kale leaf from stem

Anyone have a recipe to use kale stems?

Break kale up into smaller pieces

Mix kale with a bit of olive oil and salt of your choosing

Place kale on a baking tray. Maybe use baking paper for less cleaning up after?

Add to oven preheated at around 200 degrees celsius

Keep any eye on the kale to check when ready in your oven

Kale will be super crisp when ready

Serve and enjoy

Home Cooking: Chorizo with Kale and Breadcrumbs (30 Jan 2013)

Kale of a dish

Ever wanted to eat more healthy kale but always found it too boring when boiled. I did. So when I discovered the simple Stone Soup recipe which used chorizo I thought I'd give it a whirl. Cutting up kale and chorizo is dead easy. Add some oil, I used olive oil, to a wok/pan and pan fry the chorizo. Smells so good at this point tempting you to stop right here and eat as a tapas dish but persevere. Take the chorizo out with tongs and retain the flavoured oil to quickly stir fry the kale. Only takes a couple of minutes. As an adaptation I made some breadcrumbs by finely chopping a slice of white bread and cooked in the oven for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees until dry and crunchy. I added the breadcrumbs soon after the kale had cooked and the chorizo was added back in the wok. Allow the breadcrumbs to soak up any excess oil or add a dash of extra olive oil if too dry. Add a splash of lemon juice and take off the heat with a final stir fry toss. I only had bottled lime juice on hand which seemed to work OK as well. Didn't take long to make and tasted pretty good although probably not as healthy with the oil and chorizo but makes it easier to eat your greens.

Ingredients:

• Chorizo

• Kale

• White Bread

• Lemon or Lime Juice

• Olive Oil

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Kale is very healthy for you, There's chorizo in this dish, Simple recipe and easy to cook with minimal wash up required

CONS: Chorizo is probably not the healthiest thing to eat but tastes so good

MUST TRY: Discovering more recipes to cook kale in a tasty way

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Chop up chorizo and kale

Breadcrumbs made by chopping up white bread and cooking in oven at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes

Cook chorizo in a bit of oil. Chorizo will produce extra oil when cooked.

Once the chorizo is cooked take out with tongs and keep to the side. Retain chorizo flavoured oil in wok.

Stir fry kale in chorizo flavoured oil on high heat

Once kale is about cooked add chorizo back in wok

Add breadcrumbs to soak up any excess oil and to flavour the breadcrumbs

Take off heat and add a splash of lemon or lime juice for extra flavour zest

Plate up and enjoy