My apologies to American school children

I’m sorry to deliver some disappointing news: the USDA has decided not to include Vergennes High School’s maple-mustard kale chips in the finals of the first national healthy school lunch recipe contest.  As a team of dedicated and creative high school students, staff and a local chef, we created the following delicious and nutritious recipe for a sweet-savory crunchy chip made from dark green leafy vegetables.  During the school taste test, we heard lots of “hmmmmm”, “that’s good!” and many two thumbs up. Kale grows nutritious, we made it delicious, and we think kids everywhere deserve to eat it. With or without USDA endorsement, we hope you will make and enjoy these often.

Maple-Mustard Kale Chips

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Vermont Maple Syrup
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 bunch of fresh kale or a 1/2 bag of pre-cut kale (roughly 5 cups)
• 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 360º
2. In a large bowl, mix together dressing ingredients
3. Wash kale leaves, pull chip-size pieces off the stems and dry in a salad spinner or between paper towels.  If you’re using pre-cut kale, remove the small stem pieces.
4. Add kale leaves to dressing in large bowl and mix thoroughly – a perfectly good way is with your hands (olive oil makes a nice moisturizer) until all leaves are coated.
5. Spread leaves on baking sheets in a single layer, sprinkle with salt, pepper and parmesan cheese.
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes.  They will turn nice and crispy, but they move from perfect to burned quickly, so watch them carefully.

I hope you’re feeling inspired to try more greens, and that you’ll allow me to recommend Greens Glorious Greens, one of my favorite cookbooks full of information and great recipes to get you over any lingering green reluctance.

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