Millet is one of those seriously underrated grains which I honestly think we should eat more of. Millet is completely gluten free, rich in protein, calcium, copper, iron, magnesium and B vitamins. I am so glad I found a jar at the back of my cupboard which motivated me to come up with some new recipes using this wonder grain. 

This Tabouleh salad is perfect for summer gathering as it’s light and fresh thanks to the mint and lemon juice. You can have it on its own or even more delicious with the minty pea dip which I have been obsessed with lately! 

Serves 2-3 people 

For the Tabouleh: 

1 cup of millet 

1/2 cucumber 

2 vine tomatoes

3 spring onions – finely sliced 

The juice of 1 lemon 

A generous bunch of parsley – finely chopped 

A small handful of fresh mint leaves – finely chopped 

2 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil 

1/4 cup of pitted olives – chopped in half 

Plenty of salt and pepper for seasoning 

Optional adds on: 

A handful of pomegranate seeds 

2-3 tbsp of capers in brine 

For the pea dip:

2 cups of frozen peas 

1 clove of garlic 

The juice of 1/2 lemon 

3 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil 

1 tsp of dijon yellow mustard 

A small handful of fresh mint leaves 

Salt and pepper to taste 

To make the pea dip place the frozen peas in large bowl and cover them with boiling water. Let them sit for 5 minutes until soft. Add the peas and all the other ingredients to a food processor and blitz until you have a creamy, fairly smooth consistency. 

To cook the millet place it in a large pan and cover it with the plenty of boiling water so it’s fully covered plus you have an extra layer of water. Similar to cooking pasta. I personally don’t like to cook millet with the water absorption method as it gets too mushy. Season it with a pinch of salt and cook it for 20-25 minutes until the grains have doubled up in size and they are soft. Drain it and leave it in the colander to cool.

In the meantime remove the seeds from the tomatoes and chop them really finely. Also scoop out the seeds from the cucumber and cut into small cubes. Add in the chopped olives, capers, pomegranate seeds (if using), parsley and mint. Drizzle with the olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix everything well together. 

With a fork fluff up the millet and add it to the veggies. Give everything a good mix and serve it with the pea dip.