Toasty, nutty, fluffy millet takes the place of bulghur wheat in tabbouleh and is studded with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, crumbled feta, and fresh dill then dressed with freshly squeezed lemon juice. This big batch, gluten-free summery salad stores well in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Ingredients
3/4cupdry millet
1 1/3cupswater
1tablespoonplus 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oilseparated
1seedless cucumbercut lengthwise into eighths and then into small wedges
1pintcherry tomatoesquartered
1cupmarinated artichoke heartsroughly chopped
1cupfeta crumbles
3/4cupblack kalamata olivespitted (I used garlic stuffed kalamata olives for extra oomph.) and chopped
1/2of a sweet onionpeeled and diced
1/4cuppacked, fresh dill leaves, finely chopped
The juice and zest of 1 lemon
1cloveof garlicpeeled and finely minced
salt and pepper to taste
additional extra virgin olive oil for serving
Instructions
Put the millet in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat, stirring or tossing constantly, until you hear the grains popping and they toast to a very light golden brown. This will take about 4 to 5 minutes.
Quickly transfer the toasted millet into a deep bowl and immediately pour cool water over it to cover. Be careful when you do this as it will create a lot of hot steam very quickly. Swirl a couple of times then pour the water and toasted millet into a fine mesh strainer. Put the millet into the bowl of a rice cooker, add the 1 1/3 cups water and 1 tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil. Program the rice cooker for 'regular' or simply turn it on if it is an on/off variety.
If you do not have a rice cooker, toast and rinse the millet as directed above, then cook according to package directions but using the same ratio of millet/water/olive oil as instructed in this recipe.
When the rice cooker (or stove top cooking) is done, open the lid and fluff with a wooden spoon or rice paddle. Scoop into a large mixing bowl and toss in the chopped onions and garlic. Let cool 10 minutes, fluffing every so often to help it cool more quickly.
After 10 minutes, toss in the last 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and the cucumbers, tomatoes, artichoke hearts, feta crumbles, kalamata olives, chopped dill, juice and zest of the lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a storage container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving, but an overnight chill is best. Toss gently and drizzle with a little additional olive oil just before serving.
Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.