Baked Rapa (rapini)

Garden full of rapa greens

I have been dying to try baked Kale chips, but I forgot to buy Kale today!  My truck won't start and my neighbor was nice enough to take me shopping, and I forgot.  I have no way to get back to the store for Kale, however, I do have a garden full of what we call Rapa, and what I think other people call Rapini.  I ran out and picked some.

Rapa Greens

Washed it.  Dryed it.  Put it on a pizza pan, spritzed it with olive oil spray, and put it in the oven at 200 for 10 minutes.

Baked Rapa

There it is in the oven, crispy and ready.

Baked Rapa

Here it is in the bowl. I sprinkled it with a bit of salt, bit into one...and the verdict:

Yummy but insubstantial.  It's like biting into a fall leaf; a paper thin dry leaf; the kind that crumbles into pieces when you touch it.  Now, I've never actually bitten into a fall leaf, so I'm guessing here,lol.  The taste was surprisingly good, but there was hardly any chew factor.  I picked big leaves but I should have picked smaller ones because fitting the entire rapa leaf into my mouth would have been easier and neater, lol. 

I did enjoy them; they were yummy and a healthy substitute for chips, but I wanted something more substantial, more there.  I haven't yet tried Kale chips so for all I know they're like bites of nothing too.  I would definitely eat these Rapa chips again because they were so tasty, but I'd have to make a lot more than two pans full because they are definitely not filling, lol.  Next time I think I"ll try sprinkling them with some garlic and parmesan cheese.