Roasted Kale..

Eating for Ireland has finally succumbed to the lure of the almighty Kale!

I resisted for as long as I could – the memories of overly-strong Irish Winter Cabbage, boiled but still bitter; it’s scent pervading the entire house, was still fresh in my mind – but today the curiosity overcame the misgivings, and here we are  – giving Kale the roasting it was asking for all those years..

If you ever enjoyed what they coyly called ‘deep-fried seaweed’ in Asian restaurants back in the day (it was just finely shredded, deep fried greens apparently) then its grown-up, sophisticated, slightly healthier cousin might well be for you. No bitter taste, no cabbage-scented house; just crispy, salty, crunchy greens which I think taste best when eaten with your fingers.

I think that you should probably try this..

Go on, trust me.

Me:

– someone most of you have never met;

– someone even your nosey next-door-neighbour doesn’t know;

– someone you’ve never told anyone about (I wouldn’t either, if I came across a website full of decent every-day recipes that actually worked )

– someone ”off the Internet”!

What’s the worst that could happen?

Try the Kale!  I won’t ask for your bank details – I promise!!

EQUIPMENT:

• Depending on how many you’re feeding, one or two baking trays.
• A large bowl – I used a large mixing bowl – it gives you plenty of room for mixing everything together.

INGREDIENTS: About 1 large leaf of Kale per person.    

• Leaves of Kale, washed.
• Sea salt ( I like Maldon Salt)
• Olive Oil
• 1-2 grated cloves of garlic,
• a squeeze of lemon juice.

METHOD:

• Heat the oven to 180Fan, or equivalent.
• Put the baking tray in to heat up
• Give the washed leaves a good shake over the sink, to remove as much water as possible.
• Cut the thick middle spines out of each leaf.
• Put 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil into the bowl.

• Add the Kale, and give it a really good stir, turning it over and over, until it’s all coated with the oil
• Carefully remove the tray from the oven and put it on a heat-proof board.
• Put the Kale pieces out, in as much of a single layer as possible.

• Generously sprinkle over the Salt, chopped or grated Garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice.
• Roast in the oven for 8 minutes, until it’s slightly charred at the edges. Toss it around half-way through to make sure that it all gets an equal roasting.
• If it’s not crispy enough, put it back and check every 2 minutes.

NOTES:

• Interestingly, when you cut the leaves off, they come off in almost bite-sized pieces. How handy is that?
• I like to throw in the garlic and lemon juice, but it’s entirely optional.

• Be warned, it’s quite easy to over-cook this. I think I almost did it yesterday – I gave the Kale 10 minutes at 200Fan, and I think that was a little too much, hence the timing and temperature in the recipe above.
• Late note: My sister was visiting for the weekend, and between the 3 of us, we polished off a huge bunch of it!