These Za’atar Spiced Kale Chips are sweet and salty and utterly delicious. I love the flavours of the Middle East and I use a lot of Middle Eastern spices and ingredients in my recipes. I recently fell in love with the spice blend Za’atar, which you can buy at your local Turkish or Moroccan shop. I usually make my kale chips with some Indian inspired spices but this time I added some Middle Eastern flair to it. If you cannot find the spice mix za’atar in your local shop, you can re-create it using dried (wild) thyme, oregano, parley, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and sumac. You can substitute sumac in this recipe by using a little extra lemon juice and 1 extra tsp of maple syrup. It’s not the same but a good and tasty alternative. What I love most about these Za’atar Spiced Kale Chips is that you can still taste the different herbs and spices. They are bitter, crunchy, spicy, salty and sweet all at the same time. And they are an healthy snack option too. You can enjoy them guilt-free!

Ingredients

• two bunches of dinosaur kale
• 2 Mejdoul dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp za’atar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 small dried chili peppers or 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp tahini
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 tsp Maldon sea salt flakes
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Add all of the ingredients  to a food processor except for the kale, 1 tbsp of za’atar and the sesame seeds.  Process until you have a thick yet liquid consistency. If the mixture is too dry, you can add more olive oil or lemon juice to taste. I only process the mixture for a very short time so there’s still some crunchy bits in the mixture.
3. De-stem the kale. I like to use my hands to tear of the green leafy parts of the stems. Then I shred the green leaves into smaller pieces with my hands. Use a salad spinner or a kitchen towel to dry the kale.
4. Add the shredded kale to a large salad bowl. Add the liquid mixture and massage it into the kale with your hands. The mixture should stick to the kale on all sides.
5. Place kale chips on large non-stick baking tray and bake for 10-20 minutes or until crispy. To make sure they crisp up evenly, mix them around about halfway through the baking process. Allow to cool down when crispy and nicely browned.
6. When cooled down add the kale chips to an air-tight container, cover and add sesame seeds and of za’atar and more salt if necessary. Shake well and enjoy!