Millet Salad

Ahhh, millet salad. I love it! It's simple, fresh, and reminds me of my little home. Combining some grain with vegetables and a light vinaigrette is not too original but I came up with my millet salad all on my own. My favorite veggies to add to my millet salad were on sale this week so I thought it was the perfect time for millet salad.

Let's talk a little about millet. First of all, millet tastes good. It has a very mild taste that's slightly nutty. Secondly, millet is super cheap, at least in part of the world. I haven't bought some in months but in the spring I think it was $.42/pound at Winco and $.72/pound at Fred Meyer. A pound of millet goes a long way. I think of millet as a great foray into exploring grains (or in this case, that may be unusual to you. I think it's a great starter grain because the taste is approachable and it's quick cooking compared to some grains. I had always seen millet in the bulk sections I frequent and was curious about it but never bought any until last spring and fell in love. I was reading an autobiography, The Bandit Queen of India: An Indian Woman's Amazing Journey from Peasant to International Legend by Phoolan Devi, Marie-Therese Cuny, and Paul Rambali. Very powerful but for our purposes here I won't digress but say read it. Phoolan and her family grew and ate lots of millet. I was curious about all this millet so I did a little research. The only thing I knew about millet at the time was that millet was mostly considered bird food in the states. Turns out, millet is a major food source for some parts of the world. So I don't know that much more but that opened my eyes. I asked one of my friends who had recently discovered they were allergic to gluten and were exploring lots of grains about millet. Turns out, they really enjoyed millet! She used it cooked and also ground as a flour. The next time I went to the store, I got myself some millet. I had no idea what to do with it. Millet salad was the creation!

This is one of the recipes that you can vary the filling according to what's in season, on sale, or what you like. I kept this one pretty simple. Okay, I forgot the beans. I lost my mind and wasn't thinking. What I was probably thinking was that spinach was on sale and I was going to eat my millet salad on a bed of spinach and was distracted. I have made millet salad with fresh grilled corn and grilled anaheim peppers. Bell peppers are a great addition, as are navy beans or garbanzo beans, avocado, cilantro instead of parsley, carrots, radish, and scallions. I speak from experience, I've made millet salad with all of those things.

I have a big, fat secret for using raw onions and other pungent ingredients in something like a salad. It's such a secret that I only found out about it by making someone else's recipe that's posted on the internet. Okay, it's not a secret and it's not my idea. But it's brilliant! I love The Choosy Beggars and love their recipe for Sweet Potato and Navel Orange Salad. Make it! They make the dressing and let the onions, garlic, and jalapeno sit in the dressing for at least a half-hour. The acid works magic on these things and they come out milder and won't overpower the other ingredients, especially the onion. It's crunchy and delightful! In the case of my millet salad, I put a couple tablespoons of rice vinegar in the bowl and threw in the diced onion, garlic, and jalapeno. I feel so strongly about this that I daydream about serving my onions to Scott Conant on the Food Network show, Chopped. Whenever he is served raw onions, he has a fit. I get it, raw onions aren't everyone's favorite thing. I happen to love raw red onion and think this marinated onion would win him over.

Onto the recipe. I like my millet al dente for this recipe. I cracked the lid,  more than just a little. I think 15-17 minutes works for the cooking time. With this, babysit the pan and keep trying it until it's the texture you like. After it's cooked, I take the lid off, and place the pan on a cool burner, stirring occasionally to release some of the heat while evaporating the remaining water. When I made the vinaigrette, I just added enough lemon juice until the salad reached the moisture level and tartness I wanted. I used bottled lemon juice which isn't as strong tasting as fresh lemon so I could add a lot more. If using fresh citrus juice, always zest the fruit first and add that to the salad. You're getting the most bang for your pennies. Here's the recipe for this week's version of millet salad. I didn't put amounts of anything because I would change it according to how much each item was on sale that week. What can I say? I'm cheap. Enjoy!

Millet Salad

2 cups millet
3 1/2 cups water
lemon juice, to taste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
vinegar (rice vinegar or white vinegar)
onion
garlic (minced finally or grated)
jalapeno
cucumber
tomato
parsley
salt and pepper, to taste
dash cayenne

1. Cook millet with the water, between 15-20 minutes, depending on desired texture. Less time = more crunchy. Crack the lid on the pot to let steam escape. After cooked, remove from burner, take off lid, and let cool.
2. While millet is cooking, prepare onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Put in dish with two tablespoons or so of vinegar and let marinate.
3. Combine cooled millet with marinating vegetables, olive oil, and remaining ingredients. May be served immediately or allowed to sit before serving.