Toasted millet, sugar snap & avocado salad with ginger, honey & pumpkin seed dressing

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

This is out of Dennis Cotter's amazing book "for the love of food", however there are a number of additions and substitutes one can make.  This makes a lovely little starter or a light lunch.

At the moment in my garden I have a huge abundance of french breakfast radishes so they go into the salad as well, and alfalfa and sprouted mung beans are a good addition too.
 
For 4
1 tbsp olive oil
300grm millet  (one could also use couscous or bulgar wheat)
4 spring onions-finely chopped
150 grms sugar snap peas-strings removed and halved
2 hass avocados
1 handful of micro salad or water cress (or any small salad leaves you can find!)

The dressing:
150g pumpkin seeds-toasted
juice of one lemon or lime
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp runny honey
125 ml olive oil

First prepare the dressing: set aside 2 tbsp of the pumpkin seeds and chop them coarsely.  Put the rest into a food processor and grind to a fine powder.  Add 150ml water and blend to a paste.  Add the lemon juice, ginger, honey and olive oil and briefly blend to get a pouring consistency.  Season with salt and pepper.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy sauce pan over low heat.  Add the millet and toast for 7-8 minutes, stirring often.  Add 600ml/1 pint of boiing water and a pinch of salt.  Lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer the millet for 15 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed.

Stir the spring onions and sugar snaps into the millet, spoon this into shallow bowls and drizzle some dressing over.  Peel the avocado, remove the stone and cut the flesh into thick dice.  Toss with the salad leaves and a little of the dressing.

Spoon some of this salad on each portion of the millet, and drizzle some more dressing over and around the sald.  Scatter the reserved chopped pumpkin seeds on top and serve.

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