Chard Salad with Moroccan Spices

I'll confess I've never really seen much chard in Morocco, even after a year's residence there, and I'm not even sure it's something the climate could support if people felt the urge to grow it there.  That notwithstanding, certain spice combinations can bring out the best from the most unexpected of foods, and while it might just be that I happened to be in possession of some truly exceptional cumin (courtesy of Penzey's, of course), which did a great deal for this simple recipe, I surmise that whatever your cumin quality, you'lll be pretty pleased with the results.  Full disclosure: this recipe was adapted from the one provided here, which I discovered while trolling the internet for good uses for the excess chard I picked up at the Kapiolani Community College Farmers Market yesterday morning on a whim.

• 1 large bunch fresh chard
• ¼ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. ground sweet paprika
• ½ tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. salt (or to taste)
• ⅛ tsp. finely ground black pepper

Set a small, half-full pot of water on to boil.  Coarsely chop the chard. Once the water boils, add ½ tsp. or so of salt to the water, followed by the chopped chard, and boil for 15 min. or until the stalks are soft. Dump the chard into a colander and run cold water over it until it cools down enough to handle without discomfort. Wrap the chard in a paper towel and wring out as much water from it as possible. Return the wrung-out chard to the chopping board and chop even more finely. In a bowl, mix the chard, oil, salt, and spices thoroughly. Serve immediately at room temperature.