There’s nothing cool about baked kale—aka kale chips—anymore. And if we’re honest, remodeling a notoriously fibrous cabbage varietal right into a snack that may go toe-to-toe with potato chips is almost impossible. But the reality remains that baked kale is one of the most straightforward and amusing approaches to eating a lot of vegetables, and our classic baked kale recipe has weathered the exams of time and trends.
Developed by Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns—a man who knows how to make vegetables shine—it became part of the Great Kale Shift of 2009. The recipe was created while kale moved from a produce-aisle afterthought to a menu staple anywhere (see massaged salads, green smoothies, and, yes, chips). Don’t Kale My Vibe photograph tees were everywhere; Beyonce even wore a KALE sweatshirt in her 7/eleven track video.
Raw kale salads are a mainstay at fast-informal lunch spots and beyond. However, kale chips peaked around 2012, and we do not see them often. In a world of mushroom bacon and watermelon jerky, kale chips could not preserve up. And the fact is, this kale chip recipe is pretty fundamental…However, in a good way. It requires two elements—a piece of olive oil and a variety of Tuscan kale (plus salt and pepper)—and a bit of prep. And it indeed is why we nonetheless adore it.
