When Life Gives You Lemons....Make Tabouleh!

Gluten free tabouleh??  Can't be done you say.... But that uses bulgur wheat you say.....  That can't possibly be made gluten free you say....  Well I say poppycock!

There are other grains besides wheat that work just dandy in cold salads.  Millet is one of them and one of my favorites!  I don't even remember where I first learned about cooking whole millet, but I buy it at the local Asian market.  Organic whole millet.  It's easy to cook - pretty much cooks up like brown rice.  In fact, I toss it in my rice cooker on the brown rice cycle and walk away....just walk away til the thing beeps and tells me it's done.

To get a nice nutty flavor, I toss the dry millet in a medium non-stick pan over medium heat and let it get all nice and toasty.  I start with a cup of millet.  Once it's toasted, toss it in the rice cooker bowl.  Add 1 3/4 cup of water or stock (chicken or veggie).  Add a pinch of salt and about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter.  Set it on brown rice and let 'er rip!  If you need to cook it on the stove, put the toasted millet, liquid, salt, and fat in a pot w/ a tight fitting lid.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and put the lid one.  Simmer for 20 min.  Lift the lid and check to see if all the liquid has been absorbed.  If so, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.  If not, simmer for another 5 min and check again...rinse and repeat.

Once the millet is cooked and done with the 10 min steam, unlid it, drizzle on a little more olive oil, then fluff it.  If I'm serving it as a side dish, I'm done!  If I'm using in a salad, I set it aside to allow it to cool more.

Millet Tabouleh

Makes a lot!

1 cup whole millet
1 3/4 cup water or stock (chicken or veggie)
1 Tbsp olive oil or butter/margarine
1/2 tsp salt
3 medium tomatoes, finely diced
1 medium cucumber, finely diced
1 large bunch parsley, minced
2 lemons, juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Cook millet according to above directions.  When done steaming, drizzle on a little more olive oil and allow to cool.  I stir it occasionally to help the process go faster.

Meanwhile, dice the veggies and mince the parsley.  Toss all of that in a large mixing bowl along with the lemon juice, olive oil, and S&P  Go easy on the salt for now.

Once the millet is mostly cooled, add it to the marinating veggies.  Toss to combine.  If it's too dry, add a little more oil.  Taste and adjust for S&P.

That's it!  This makes a great side dish and will keep in the fridge for several days.  I usually like to make this at least an hour before serving so the flavors can meld.  Bring to room for serving to bring out the flavors.