My introduction to Tuscan (aka lacinato, dinosaur, black) kale came in the form of a Bon Appetit recipe for oven-baked kale chips. I had never thought much of the brighter curly leaf variety and it is not hard to wonder why: many establishments persist in using it as little else than a soggy green plate liner.
Soggy is precisely what Tuscan kale chips are not: crisp, salty, wafer-thin sheets of pleasantly vegetal goodness, what I have always imagined those so-called “veggie chip” extrusions aspire to be. Sarah and I routinely eat multiple sheet pans worth right out of the oven. If we have company, we sometimes manage to get a third of the crisps into a serving glass. Sometimes.
Making chips out of kale leaves involves little more than salt, oil, any spices you have laying around and a moderately hot oven. Do a search for “kale chips” if you like step by step instructions. It’s easy and worth adopting into your culinary repertoire.
In addition to chips, we enjoy throwing sliced kale into pretty much any concoction that comes to our minds: beans and rice, omelets, squash soup, even salads if the greens are young. As we roll into fall, I look forward to seeing how the hearty greens weather. We have around eight tall, healthy kale plants that have been reliably sprouting new leaves all summer long. We simply cannot keep up with the plants, and it is hard to imagine a time in my life when we held anything less than utmost compassion for the prolific, versatile veg. I imagine we will introduce our future kids to kale in chip form and go from there. After all, I have yet to meet a soul who can resist a tray hot out of the oven.
In conclusion, kale is fantastic, yes? In addition to its dramatic texture and its rich deep color, we LOVE its nutritional value (like most dark green veggies, kale is high in iron) and distinctive flavor. As our summer vegetables slow with the impending cold weather, our kale endures. All summer long, we’ve enjoyed this leafy green. Due to its longevity, we’ll be indulging in this veg for a few more weeks (months if finger-crossing works).
sownandsoured 