Cheesy Kale Chips

I tried cheesy kale chips for the first time at the Organic Garden Cafe in Beverly, Massachusetts and was instantly smitten with their faux-cheese taste and crispy-chewy texture. The method and ingredients used to create the coating on these chips are simple: a raw cashew base is blended with roasted red peppers, nutritional yeast, a bit of raw tahini and salt, then applied to the kale. A dehydrator then transforms that viscous coating dramatically, giving it a smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture, which perfectly compliments the developed crispiness of the kale.

INGREDIENTS
Large bunch of curly kale, washed and dried very well
1 cup soaked raw cashews, soaked in water overnight, then rinsed and drained
7 oz. prepared roasted sweet red peppers
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2-3 TB raw tahini
1 tsp coarse sea salt

METHOD
Remove the kale leaves from the ribs, and rip into pieces. Set aside.

Placed the soaked cashews into a small food processor and blend until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients, then blend well again. Coat the kale pieces with the cheese mixture as desired. (I was very heavy-handed with the coating on these, which just covered the entire bunch of kale. If you would like a lighter coating, you can cut the coating ingredients in half.)

Place the smothered kale into a food dehydrator at 130 degrees for 9-10 hours, or until a desired crispiness is reached.