Kale chips are a trendy item these days. Most recipes call for simply adding some oil and salt to fresh kale and baking it until crisp. These Thai flavored chips are more complicated, but the results are oh so worth it. They can be baked in the oven, but this raw method does a better job at preserving the integrity of the nutrients in the kale.
I prefer the curly-leafed kale for these so more of the sauce gets trapped in all the ruffles in the leaves and adds more flavor.
Fresh bright green kale is a nutritional powerhouse.
Rinse the kale, spin it dry, and strip the leaves off the stems.
Place the sauce ingredients in the blender.
Blend until a smooth, creamy sauce forms.
Pour the sauce over the kale.
Place the kale into a large bowl an use your hands to thoroughly massage the sauce into the kale.
Spread the prepared kale on a dehydrator tray.
A generous coating of sauce gives these chips their unique slightly sweet and spicy flavor.
Thai Inspired Kale Chips
2 large bunches curly leaf kale
2 cups raw cashews
1/3 cup raw almond butter
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon crushed chili flakes
½ teaspoon red curry paste (preferably Thai Kitchen brand) – use more if you want more heat
Rinse and dry kale. Hold stem in one hand and with the other hand strip the leaves off the stem. Discard stems. Tear leaves into 2-inch pieces and place in large bowl
Place all remaining ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend for 1-2 minutes, until a very smooth creamy mixture forms, stopping once or twice to scrape down sides of blender. If the sauce is too thick for the blender to handle, add 1-2 tablespoons water to thin it out a bit. Pour sauce over kale and use your freshly washed hands to thoroughly massage the sauce into the kale (this gives your hands quite a workout).
Place kale on 2-3 teflex-lined dehydrator sheets. (It looks like a lot of kale, but it shrinks substantially while dehydrating.) Dehydrate at 115° for 12 hours. Store tightly covered.
Alternatively, only dehydrate three-quarters to half of the kale, and eat the rest fresh. The fresh kale and Thai sauce make a very delicious fresh kale salad.
Baked version: Spread on parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 325° for 10-15 minutes, until crisp. Keep an eye on them to prevent them from burning.
