tabbouleh with millet

While tabbouleh traditionally uses cracked wheat (called bourgal or bulgar), ours calls for millet. This not only makes it gluten free, it really shows off millet's capabilities of absorbing flavours beautifully whilst staying fluffy and light. This is an important factor, because so often Sydney summers mean that our salads don't maintain their vibrancy after half an hour spent on the picnic rug or BBQ buffet. Not so with millet tabbouleh; it maintains that freshly made quality for longer.

You'll also notice this Tabbouleh recipe asks for za'atar. It's by no means a traditional Tabbouleh ingredient, but I find it really lifts the whole thing and delivers depth and interest.

​So come on a little millet adventure with us. 

Prep Time: 10 mins,  Cook Time: 25 mins,  Chill Time: 30 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients:
½ cup millet
1 cup water
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (you'll need 1 large or 2 small lemons)
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 clove  garlic, minced finely
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tsp za'atar 
1 bunch parsley, leaves only, finely chopped 
½ bunch mint, leaves only,  finely chopped 
1 medium tomato diced
¼ cup finely diced red onion
1  cucumber diced

Method:
Add millet and water to a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover, and let cook for 15-20 minutes. Most of the water should be absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes to fully absorb. Then spread the millet thinly over an oven tray to cool down a little.

While the millet is cooking, combine the lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a small bowl - this step is important as the garlic needs some time in lemon juice to mellow. Raw garlic can have an aggressive taste, and adding it to an acid like lemon juice essentially cooks it a little. Whisk or stir  to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once the millet is cooled (it can be warm, just make sure it's not still hot), place it in a large bowl. Add parsley, mint, tomato, red onion and za'atar. Add dressing and toss to coat. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Allow tabbouleh to chill and marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before serving.

Tabbouleh keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Pimp My Recipe:

• Try adding pomegranate seeds, they add a little pizazz and taste wonderful.
• Along with the herbs included in the recipe, I find that adding a tbsp or so of dill gives the tabbouleh a different flavour profile that I really like!