Kudzu Chips

It is no secret that I despise, abhor, scorn, and any other synonym for HATE – kudzu. It is the scourge of the South. It is the menace of our mountains.  It is a nuisance to nature. And it’s very healthy, too. I have only found one natural enemy of kudzu: an oven set to 350°.

Let’s make some kudzu chips! You will need:

Kudzu in its natural habitat: at my property

• A bowl of thoroughly washed kudzu leaves

• Oil – I use extra virgin olive oil

• Seasonings – I used Everything Bagel Seasoning, Italian herbs, and sea salt

Winning the fight with kudzu: add oil and seasonings

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°.

• Brush a baking sheet and both sides of the kudzu leaves with oil. Sprinkle with seasonings.

• Bake for 10 minutes, checking periodically for desired crisp texture.

Kudzu in its new format: a healthy snack!

I put a different type of seasoning on each leaf to be able to decide which flavor was most delicious. If you totally love kudzu chips, you’ll have to make several batches. Kudzu leaves are enormous and take up a lot of space on the baking sheet. I tried a few chips and they tasted a lot like kale chips. If you like kale chips, save yourself the expense, go out to the country, and do the local citizens a favor. They will probably provide you with extra-large Hefty bags to get all you want. They will probably help you pick a few thousand leaves. It should be somewhat comforting to know that we will never starve as long as we have kudzu and a little salt.

For decades that kudzu has been sneering at me saying, “Bite me.” Okay, I did. Not bad. If you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em.

ENJOY!