Have you ever tried millet? It’s a not very popular – though delicious – grain, that is believed to be one of the oldest cultivated crops in history. There are many different kinds of millet, the most common one being pearl millet, which is also the one I used for this dish. You can use millet just like rice or quinoa, though if you use it for the first time, always check the packaging instructions! Millet is also gluten-free, so you can use it as a tasty substitute for wheat products such as couscous or bulgur. In whole food stores, you might even find pasta or bread made from or with millets!
After using millets in several sweet dishes (like a lovely millet porridge), I wanted to give it a try in a savoury dish as well, but I didn’t want to overpower its delicious flavour with heavy sauces or spices, so I went for a zingy, fresh and just slightly hot salad with crisp pointed peppers (ball peppers will work as well) and cherry tomatoes. If you can’t find millet in your local stores, try bulgur instead – this will work just as well. Of course it won’t be gluten-free anymore!
You need:
- 100 g millet
- 250 ml water
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 pointed red peppers
- 150 g cherry tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons fresh or 2 tablespoons dried chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 – 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoon hot paprika
- salt to taste
Dice the onion, heat some vegetable oil in a small pot and gently roast the onion for a couple of minutes. Add water, a pinch of salt and tomato paste, bring to boil and stir in millet. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the millet is done (check packaging for instructions!). Wash and clean the peppers and cut into bite sized pieces. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut in half. Mix vegetables, cooked millet and parsley, add lemon juice and vegetable oil and season to taste with hot paprika and salt. Enjoy!
Note: This serves two persons as a main dish or three as a side dish.
The Uni Cookbook 