Millet Tabbouleh



Millet Tabbouleh



Tabbouleh is a traditional Middle Eastern salad made with bulgur wheat, cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh herbs. While I have never made tabbouleh before, it is a dish that has always interested me, as I obviously love any grain containing salads. Haven’t you seen how many recipes I have dedicated to quinoa salads? If you haven’t, it’s a lot. I guess I just really love eating quinoa salad, or salads in general that contain more grains than greens. What can I say, I am a hungry girl. Sometimes greens just don’t cut it on their own. 

Last night I was craving something light and refreshing with a Greek inspired twist. I have had a sudden urge to eat pepperoncini’s on everything, and thought that making something Greek would be the best way to incorporate that. With half of the ingredients in traditional tabbouleh already half way there on the Greek theme, I figured there was no better time to give tabbouleh a try. As I am gluten free, I replaced the traditional bulgur wheat with smokey, nutty millet, which I had never tried before last night. I seriously cannot believe I have waited so long to try it. It is absolutely delicious, and it actually reminds me of a heartier couscous, but better in the sense that it has a chewier texture. Add in some red and green onion, grape tomato halves, chickpeas, pepperoncini’s, cucumber and flat leaf parsley and you, my friend, have got yourself one dynamite salad.

This recipe makes a BIG batch, but the good thing is that it saves pretty well. You may have to add a little more of the dressing as the days go by, since millet is a thirsty grain that tends to absorb liquid rather quickly, but otherwise it seems to hold up fairly well when covered in the fridge.

Millet Tabbouleh
 
Author: The Lean Clean Eating Machine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
A delicious, Greek inspired, gluten free take on traditional tabbouleh salad.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup millet
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 1/4 cup sliced pepperoncini’s
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion
  • 1/4 cup flat leaf parsely; chopped
  • 1 (15oz) can of organic chickpeas; drained and rinsed
  • 15-20 grape tomatoes; cut into halves
  • 1/4 English cucumber; cut into quarters
  • High quality sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
  • ***Dressing:***
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. distilled vinegar
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 Tbsp. Garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1 large clove garlic; minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions
  1. To cook millet, bring 1 cup millet and 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil. When millet reaches a boil, cover and turn to low. Set timer for 15 minutes and do not remove cover.
  2. When millet is finished, remove millet from heat, but keep covered for an additional 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, gently fluff millet with a fork, careful not to stir too hard as it will change the texture of the millet.
  3. Let finished millet cool for about 10 minutes.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, combine all prepared vegetables, chickpeas and millet.
  5. Gently mix vegetables and millet together, and lightly season with salt and pepper.
  6. In a small dish or mason jar, combine all of the ingredients for the dressing and whisk, or shake thoroughly to fully mix.
  7. Add dressing to salad, pouring in only a small amount at a time. You don’t want to over saturate the salad, so it is important to only pour a small amount at a time.
  8. Serve immediately, or refrigerate in well sealed containers for up to a week.
 

 

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