I've been perfecting a recipe for Cheesey Kale chips for a little while now and I'm pleased to announce I think I've cracked it!
Thankfully my little garden has provided me with enough kale to perfect the recipe. But alas my crop has all been used up now, but don't fear now is the time to sow sow sow! You'll be pleased to hear that it wasn't all used to make kale chips though and I'll post another kale recipe soon..........
The path of perfecting the cheesey kale chips was up and down but there were a lot of giggles along the way. A couple of weeks back my sister and I had a cook up session in my kitchen, trying out different ingredients to get that cheesey taste just right. The only problem was when we made up a batch of the marinade/sauce we mostly ate it during our taste sessions! When we finally thought we had it just right we realised we hadn't written down the ratio of ingredients!
Anyway, to cut a long story short a few days ago I had a light bulb moment and in my opinion got the ratios just right, so without further ado here is what I did! Not everyone has the same taste opinion but the beauty of making your own, is that you can add more of one ingredient if you think it needs it.
You may need to double up the ingredients or even halve them depending on how much kale you have.
Ingredients
Bunch of kale, washed & dried thoroughly
4 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tsp Lemon juice
3 Heaped Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
1 Tsp Garlic granules
1 Tsp Porcini powder
½ Tsp Vegetable bouillon powder
½ Tsp Mustard powder
Method
In a pestle and mortar pound the nutritional yeast to form a fine powder.
Whisk the oil, lemon juice and water together to combine and add the nutritional yeast powder and the remaining ingredients bar the kale. Give everything another whisk up and have a quick taste test.
Now's the time to add more of any ingredient if you think it needs it, but remember the taste now will be lighter than the final version as we are dehydrating the kale.
Remove the larger stems from the kale, the smaller ones will be fine and chop the leaves into smaller pieces. Just a bit larger than you want your chips to be.
Transfer to a large bowl and pour over the marinade/sauce and mix with your hands making sure all the leaves are evenly coated with the mixture.
Transfer the leaves to a food dehydrator being careful not to overlap the leaves. Dehydrate at 70°C for 6 hours or until totally crispy. If you haven't got a dehydrator the kale chips can be made by baking in a very low oven overnight.
Are you new to Nutritional yeast? Before transferring to a vegan lifestyle I had never heard of it, but now, I can't be without it, which reminds me I must add it to my shopping list as I'm running low.
If you've never tried Nutritional Yeast before, you must give it a go. It's lovingly known as "Nooch" and it adds a savoury almost 'cheesey' taste to dishes. I use it in soups, pasta sauces, houmous and pies, it's extremely versatile and can be added to anything.
The brand I use is Engevita Marigold Yeast Flakes with Vitamin B12 and most health shops will sell it or order it in for you. Of course there are plenty of online stores too.
Today's special is Spinach and Mushroom Pie which has a creamy filling topped with mashed potatoes, perfect for Sunday lunch.
Ingredients - Serves 2
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion, finely diced
1 Clove of garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp Soy sauce
260g Mixed mushrooms, diced
150g Spinach, roughly shredded
1 Tbsp Flour
200ml Almond milk, unsweetened
3 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)
300g Mashed potatoes*
1 Tsp Wholegrain mustard
* I already had some left over mash which I used for this recipe, which weighed 300g. You could top your pies with more mash if you prefer. I always make mine with a little Vitalite, salt and pepper and a splash of unsweetened almond milk.
Method
Fry the onion in the olive oil for 5 minutes or until translucent, add the garlic and fry for another minute, be careful not to burn it.
Add the diced mushrooms to the pan along with the soy sauce and for another 5 minutes, adding a little water if things start to stick.
Add the spinach and cook until it has wilted, about 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the spinach and mushroom mixture and stir to combine.
Gradually add the almond milk stirring continuously and cook over a low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the nutritional yeast and stir until it has dissolved into the mixture. Transfer to a baking dish or two individual portion dishes.
Add the wholegrain mustard to the mashed potatoes and stir through so that the mustard is evenly distributed. Spoon the mash on top of the spinach and mushroom filling and bake in a moderate oven for 20-30 minutes.
Ever since Christmas, I've been dying to use my food dehydrator, which my Mum and Sister gave me. For one reason and another I haven't had chance to use it until today!
As it was my first attempt I scoured the web for recipes for Kale Chips and found a few which used the same ingredients so I thought great minds think alike I'll do the same.
It wasn't until I checked my kitchen cupboards that I realised I hadn't got the main ingredient (other than the Kale); cashew nuts! I wasn't going to go to the shops just for the one ingredient so I thought I'm going to have to make do with what I've got!
Now I wanted a cheesy taste so I knew that nutritional yeast needed to be one of the main ingredients, the rest was just left overs from the fridge and a few herbs and spices. I was taking a shot in the dark with this one, but I'm happy to report it worked out just fine!
Ingredients
1 large bunch of kale
100ml ground almonds
50ml water
3 sundried tomatoes
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp Agave nectar
½ red pepper
½ Tsp tumeric
½ Tsp onion granules
½ Tsp salt
Method
Remove the stems from the kale and chop the leaves into smaller pieces. Wash thoroughly and pat dry with a tea towel or kitchen paper. Transfer to a large bowl. Blend the remaining ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour the mixture on top of the kale and mix with your hands making sure all the leaves are evenly coated with the mixture. Transfer the leaves to a food dehydrator being careful not to overlap the leaves. Dehydrate at 70°C for 6 hours or until totally crispy.
