millet by a landslide: broccoli, chickpea & millet salad

I love salads that are meals in their own right. And a salad that looks like springtime? Well, even better. Better because while the calendar says spring, the weather outside isn't co-operating. We have cherry blossoms but unfortunately, this week, we've had an attack of winter. Yesterday, we even had a brief hail storm! March came in like a lamb but is leaving with a lion's roar and I don't like it one bit.

But back to the springy salad. I made a stripped-down version of this salad from 101 Cookbooks a couple of weeks ago and loved it. Instead of quinoa, I used a new-to-me grain, millet. I wasn't sure I'd like the grain since while I like quinoa, I'm not mad about it. But there was no reason for me to be hesitant...because millet is the bomb. Way better than quinoa in my opinion and even Cornelius (who is a bonefide quinoa-hater) loved this salad too. Millet has a great texture and a really great flavour. This time around, I made the salad with broccoli and liked the results even better. It makes a great lunch and is quite simple to put together. The lemon-tahini dressing has a nice bite and helps to bind everything together in a nice flavourful package. So not only does this salad look pretty on a plate it tastes delicious too.

broccoli, chickpea & millet salad with tahini-lemon dressing
1 c millet
2 c water
1 head broccoli, broken into florets
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/2 red onion, finely diced
zest of 1 lemon
romaine lettuce leaves, torn or spring mix baby greens

dressing:
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T tahini
3 T olive oil
1 T hot water (more if necessary)
juice from 1 small lemon
salt & pepper

1. Toast millet in a small saucepan until it starts to crackle. Add water, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat and let simmer until water evaporates.

2. Steam broccoli until bright green, drain and rinse under cold water. Add chickpeas, broccoli, red onion and millet into a large bowl and toss.

3. Make dressing by combining all ingredients, adding more hot water if necessary to get proper dressing consistency. Add half of dressing to millet mixture and blend.

4. Add a base of lettuce or baby greens on each serving plate and add a few large spoonfuls of the millet mixture over top. Drizzle with remaining dressing and add a sprinkling of lemon zest for colour.