A tasty way to eat more kale.

Before this week, though I’d had kale before, I was never “clued in” to how nutritious, delicious and easy to prepare it really is. But the other day, Jon Nourse, whose family has owned and operated Nourse Farm in Westborough, Massachusetts since 1722 said kale, with its high beta-carotene content, is one of the best eye health vegetables, and that it’s actually very easy to prepare.

I checked out kale’s nutritional value at one of my favorite food nutrition sites, The World’s Healthiest Foods. According to the site, among other benefits, including its eye healthy high beta-carotene content, kale is rich in cholesterol-fighting as well as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. For more details written in plain English, just click this link to the WHF page about kale.

Regarding preparation, Jon mentioned, and I’d heard from others, that baking the leaves for 10-12 minutes is one of the easiest and most flavorful ways to prepare kale. Some even substitute baked kale for potato chips. I got some freshly picked kale from Jon’s farm and baked it as recommended from a few recipes I found online (with a minor tweak—I used garlic salt instead of regular salt for a little added flavor). Right after baking, I had some of the leaves fresh out of the oven. Excellent. My kids had some a little while later and loved it.

Great nutrition, easy to prepare and great flavor: that’s a hit.

Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes
Total Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients

(for 2-4)
1 Bunch Fresh Kale
2 Tablespoons Olive or Vegetable Oil
Dash of Salt or Garlic Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Equipment
Baking Pan
Potholder or Folded Dishtowel
Spatula
Bowl
Timer

Make sure the oven rack is set in the middle of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Rinse, squeeze and shake dry the kale in the sink.

Tear the kale leaves off the stem by hand into bite sized pieces.

Add a shot of olive or vegetable oil, a shake of salt or garlic salt and good crunch of ground black pepper.

Mix with your hands until the leaves are all coated with olive oil and the seasoning you added.

Pour and spread the kale leaves evenly on the baking pan.

3. When the oven has warmed to 350 degrees (175 C), put the baking pan in the oven, and bake for 10-12 minutes or …

… until the leaves just start to turn brown and slightly crispy (I check the leaves after 10 minutes and then adjust the time for another 2 minutes or so until the leaves look as shown below.)

4. Carefully remove the baking pan from the oven with a potholder or folded dishtowel, and either serve warm or at room temperature.

Read more from Bruce Tretter on The Good Life.

Images courtesy of Bruce Tretter