Millet is a grain like seed perfect for making a grain salad. Grain salads are ideal for the summer. They can be brought to the beach or picnic since they hold for a few hours without refrigeration. I like to make up a grain salad once a week to have on hand for a quick lunch.
Millet is not very popular in the United States but you can find it in any health food store. It is alkaline-forming making it one of the best grains for keep your pH in balance. It is gluten free which I love, as I keep gluten out of my diet as much as possible. It is also anti-fungal so it is a good choice if you have Candida. Read my article with more information on millet here.
Greek Millet Salad
Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan, Nut Free
4 servings
3/4 cup dry millet
1 ½ cups water
1/3 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives
1/3 cup capers rinsed and drained
¼ cup scallions
¾ cup chopped parsley
1 cup spinach cut into ribbons
½ cup chopped purple cabbage
Dressing
4 Tb fresh lemon juice
2 Tb raw apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1 Tb Dijon mustard
1 Tb minced shallot
2 tsp dried oregano
¼ cup olive oil
¼- ½ tsp Celtic sea salt
Prepare the Millet
- Rinse millet with cool water in a strainer and place in a sauté panover medium heat. Gently stir the millet until it starts to give off a nutty aroma and the grains start jumping around. Be sure it doesn’t burn. If it starts to burn remove it from the heat and stir, return to the heat on a lower flame. The reason we toast the millet is so the outside of the grain will not turn to mush before the insides cook enough to lose their crunch
- Add the 2 cups of boiling water or stock and salt.
- Return to a boil, reduce heat and cover the pot.
- Simmer for 25-30 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed.
- Turn off heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes.
- Yields 3 cups cooked millet
Prepare the dressing
- Put the lemon juice and vinegar into a small bowl.
- Mix in the Dijon mustard to dissolve.
- Add the shallot, oregano and salt. Mix to dissolve the salt
- Whisk in the olive oil. Set aside to allow flavors to combine
Mix the salad
- Put the olives, capers, scallions, parsley, spinach and cabbage into a small bowl
- Put the cooked millet into a large mixing bowl, pour the dressing on top. Mix thoroughly.
- Add in the vegetables, mix well, taste to see if you need more salt or lemon.
- You can serve this as it is slightly warm or refrigerate it for later.
- This salad will keep 3 days in the refrigerator
