Farm Booty: Salt and Pepper Kale Chips

Helloooo friends! School is finally out. Summer may officially begin. Woohoo!!

The beginning of summer also marks a first for us - a farm share! As you may know, Square 1 Farm has established some roots -- haha --  in North Reading, and we are already enjoying the fruits (vegetables, really) of their labors. Please read more about this farm in John Intorcio's enthusiastic post.

If you love locally grown produce, and can't quite make it happen in your own yard, this is a great way to go organic! Each Monday we pick up a bagful of fresh-picked produce. I'm splitting my share with another family. My friend, Terri, and I both thought that would be a good way to try this out, without being overwhelmed with produce. So far the booty has been gorgeous!

I've had some fun using up the greens, arugula, Bok Choy, and radishes in salads. The Bok Choy is especially delicious - I had no idea how good it was raw!

The Swiss chard was absolutely beautiful - rich green leaves with colorful stems of either yellow or cranberry red. I chopped them up, and made them the star of my go-to sauté of mushrooms, onion, and garlic, adding the chard at the end along with a handful of the baby spinach that we received.

What's left? Beets. I'm not sure exactly what I'm doing with them, but I think I'll be roasting them to make a salad (I'm thinking goat cheese and walnuts).

And then there's the big, leafy kale. In the foodie circles I run in, everybody's always waxing on about how delicious kale chips are. I am going to admit right now I was cynical that a pungent green could turn into anything acceptably chip-like. After all, the qualities that make a chip a chip, in my opinion, are crunchiness and saltiness. Could kale make it happen? It could.

Online I found hundreds upon hundreds of tips for making kale chips. Common tips included keeping the kale leaves very dry, and to avoid overcooking them. As one funny blogger put it, "That will make them bitter, and then you will be too." Yup, she was right. My first batch was just a little blecch. I used kale that was several days old, and I also overcooked them by a couple of minutes. That's not to say that the whole batch went to waste - I am, after all, the chick that digs through the chip bag for the burnt ones. I also had several kids around, and everybody tried them, some more than once.

The second time I got it right, though! Crunchy, salty, with just a touch of ground black pepper for zing. So, so tasty.

So, if you are looking for a crunchy, savory snack that will leave you feeling energized, not demoralized, kale chips may be the ticket!

Salt and Pepper Kale Chips
Makes ~2 cups

Prep time: 10 minutes      Cook time: 9 minutes

2 cups torn kale leaves, washed and very dry (minus stems)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt
Ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Using your fingers or a pastry brush, coat the inside of a large mixing bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the kale leaves and swirl around the bowl until all leaves are lightly coated with oil. Rub more olive oil into the sides if necessary.

Spread the kale out on a cookie sheet (you may line it with parchment if you like). The leaves should lay flat and separate from each other. Roast for 8-10 minutes. The kale will first turn bright green, then begin to darken slightly. Check the leaves around 8 minutes. If they are crispy  and dark green, they are done. They may have some darkened edges; some may have more of an olive green color. Avoid letting them brown.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with sea salt and ground black pepper. Once cooled, store in airtight container.