Za’atar Kale Chips

I am not an advocate for healthy eating. You are looking at someone who falls before the feet of candy when the slightest hint of anxiety creeps up. I rely on 5-minute-microwave-mug-cake for emotional stability. My desk represents a glorious pedestal of jars of Nutella during stressful months. I gaze into McFlurry cups and see a happier me. Sugar is my solace and I have self-loathing-comfort-eating down to such a spectacular art; I am a fine masterpiece.

What I am an advocate of however is riding my bike to local farmer’s markets and “foraging” (lol) for some local/seasonal veggies on a Saturday morning and if one of those veggies just happens to end up as a healthy snack or meal I’m happy to give myself an ill-deserved pat on the back.

Kale chip recipes are on every blog I’m sure so feel free to call me out on being late to the party. Remember when kale chips where a thing when veganism exploded on the hipster scene? I’m not talking true vegans (respect) but fad vegans. The kind who conveniently perch themselves upon a green high-horse until the void of steak and cheese kicks in after a few weeks.

This is an excellent snack for all lovers of chips like myself (except for Pringles, never Pringles) and considering I’ve made a habit of snacking on nori lately this was an easy and inviting transition into kale life. And, of course, I decided to drown it in ethnic sensibilities. And speaking of za’atar; I mostly make everything from scratch but good za’atar is just too easy to find. You have two options; be a white guy and buy a jar from Harris Farm or whatever, or, find a Lebanese grocery store and buy it for peanuts by the kilo. Needless to say the latter receives my hectic approval and I actually have a massive bag leftover from a party when I was asked by a friend to “bring ethnic food” (bless). If you don’t have any it’s cool, just use salt or throw whatever spices or herbs you have in your pantry, I doubt anyone could get this wrong.

Also I realise I’ve not posted here for a while bar the occasional internet rant. I’ve been finishing up final university assessments (scary/exciting), enduring the trials and tribulations of printing my book (I will need at least 50 blog posts to detail this saga, stay tuned), and, in more exciting news (for me at least) I’ll be heading to Singapore and Bangkok on Wednesday for just over a week for a much needed holiday. So I thought it necessary to find some time to post something before I left.

Anyway. Here’s my recipe for a common fad thing shrouded in my ethnicity I love to flaunt oh-so-much. YOU’LL LOVE IT. I’m already filing this under “stuff white people like”.

Za’atar Kale Chips
(an original recipe)

1 bunch fresh kale
1-2 tbs za’atar
Olive oil
Salt

1. Preheat oven to 150°C. Wash kale, remove the centre stalks from each leaf and divide into a few pieces (they’ll shrink in the oven so don’t make them too small).
2. Toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and za’atar. Add salt to taste as your za’atar mix may be salty enough.
3. Place kale pieces on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.
4. Remove and allow to cool for a few minutes.

I’ll be back in a couple of weeks after inhaling all the chilli crab and coconut so prepare for an epic photo post upon my return. BYE!