Kale & Parsley Salad

This is a delicious salad in the early fall when the ingredients are in season.  If you have only seen kale and parsley as garnishes before, you will be surprised at how delicious they can be.  I recommend using the most tender kale you can find and curly parsley.  Curly parsley stands up to this treatment better than the more subtle Italian (flat leaf) parsley. The older, tougher kale is great in soups and stews.

1 cup kale, rinsed and stemmed
1 cup curly parsley, trimmed and rinsed
1/2 cup chopped tomato (heirloom if you can find it)
1/2 cup granny smith apple, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 cup pepitas
~1T ground cumin
~2T sherry or cider vinegar
[optional] a sprinkling of crumbled gorgonzola or other blue-veined cheese

Once rinsed, shake the water off the kale and parsley.  Then remove the long stems from the parsley and the center vein from the kale.  Break the kale into bite sized pieces and place the greens in a large mixing bowl. Add the tomato, apple, dried cranberries and nuts and combine them through the greens.

Now, sprinkle enough ground cumin over the salad to coat the leaves and using your squeaky clean hands, blend the cumin thoroughly through the salad until you do not feel any clumps of the spice.  It is very important to use your hands to feel that there are no clumps of cumin hiding in the greens.  Then, repeat the process with your vinegar, using just enough to coat the leaves and have the cumin disappear into the mixture.

You will be absolutely amazed at how delicious this salad is and it's so terrific for you.   If you must have some cheese, the only possible thing to stand up to this salad is a sprinkling of gorgonzola (otherwise, don't bother).  Mix a light sprinkling of gorgonzola gently through the salad after dressing with cumin and vinegar.  This recipe makes about 2 main course servings and stores without getting to soggy for a day.