Kale Tabouleh

                                    

   Tabouleh! The dreamiest of all....salads! I could easily eat an entire bowl all by myself so, obviously, I make it a few times a week. When it comes to kale though, I have tried many ways of preparing it and it has always disappointed me in its fresh, raw form. Until I thought of chopping it up as finely as I could and mixing it into my tabouleh. The result? No one could tell it was in there! Ever since, I have made different versions of kale tabouleh including the one described below that uses no parsley (because I didn't have any in my fridge! ).

       Ingredients:

      - 5 kale stems, tough parts removed
      - 3 tomatoes
      - 1 red/white onion, finely chopped
      - 1 lemon (its juice)
      - 1/4 cup fine ground burghul /hemp hearts/ chia seeds/ boiled quinoa
      - 2 teaspoons sumac (optional)
      - 1 Tablespoon mint (fresh or dry)
      - Arabic pepper (optional)
      - 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

      Start by placing the finely chopped onion into a bowl and, if available, rubbing it with a Tablespoon of Arabic pepper. Chop the kale as finely as you can and add it to the bowl together with the diced tomatoes. If using burghul, place it in a fine sieve and run cold water over it for 30 seconds, let it drain then add to the bowl. If using hemp or chia just toss them in. If boiled quinoa is your option, make sure it has reached room temperature before adding to the salad. Add mint and sumac, the lemon juice and olive oil, stir gently and serve. Ah! And if you have parsley at hand, do add some!