Fish and "Chips"

I love Kale. I always think of it as this ultra super-food. Is it? I'm not sure. I know its really good for you, but in my mind I've elevated it to Popeye and his can of spinach status. So, when CSA delivered my huge FRESH beautiful bunch of Kale last week I was so so excited, because again, I'm a giant dork about this kind of thing.

But how many ways can you really eat Kale? I put it in this sausage soup (post to come) that everyone loves. But come on... you can add anything to sausage and it would be awesome. Then you can do the straight up saute in olive oil method and that's tasty too. But that's pretty much my entire repertoire when it comes to cooking with Kale.

So that's why I'm REALLY REALLY excited about this. KALE CHIPS!! You must make this. It's easy, it's tasty and it's got supernatural powers. I'm going to start taking little baggies of this everywhere I go so I can harness my inner Popeye and gain superhuman speed and strength in the face of my greatest opposition (the kids).

For the Kale Chips you need:

4-5 big handfuls of Kale, chopped into bite size pieces
olive oil, or just for today, "Olive Oyl"
salt (can substitue with lawry's or old bay too)
a salad spinner (yes, you NEED this)




And for the Fish you need:

Halibut or another white fish
... these are new at Trader Joes and I'm obsessed. Frozen , boneless halibut filets already in the perfect size pieces, for a very reasonable cost!! About $6 a package.


And the ingredients for frying -

Olive Oyl

salt
flour
breadcrumbs
1 egg




So for the Kale Chips, you have to clean the kale and then dry it WELL in a salad spinner. It needs to be perfectly dry for this to work. Then lay Kale flat on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and drizzle about 1-2 tbl of Olive Oyl over the top and toss well. Put in a 350 degree oven for 12-20 minutes. We'll check in at 12 minutes and assess from there. Keep reading, you'll see!

Meanwhile get your ingredients ready for the fish. Whisk the egg in one bowl, and add a mixture of 3 parts flour to 1 part breadcrumbs on a plate, with a bit of salt.

Lay your halibut pieces on a papertowel and blot dry so that they don't have too much water in them, or they'll be difficult to fry.

And heat enough Olive Oyl over medium high heat to cover the bottom.

Dip the fish in the egg

Then coat in the breadcrumbs/flour

Keep breading the fish pieces and your fingers will look like this.

Its gross but don't stop! Must...keep...breading.

When they are all breaded up (you can wash your hands now) put them in the pan

And fry on both sides. The best thing about this is that fish cooks FAST so its only about 3 minutes per side.

Check in with your Kale at 12 minutes! It should be bright green and if you poke it, it will be crisp like chips! Mine wasn't quite done so I put it in for an extra minute. If it starts turning brown, you've gone too far and they will be bitter.

When you decide they are done, take them out and add salt! DON'T add the salt before they go in the oven or they will turn to mush!!

I decided lemon juice was key to making this awesome. Drizzle a bit all over the Fish and "Chips."

EVERYONE loved this! The kids devoured the fish and even tried the Kale Chips!! ... Proof that Kale must really have supernatural powers!