Pumpkin, Date and Feta Sorghum Tabbouleh
BY Nadia Lim
Ready in 1 hour | Serves 4-6
Sorghum is a gluten-free pseudo grain, like millet and quinoa. Botanically speaking, it’s actually a grass, but it cooks like a grain. It reminds me most of pearl (or Israeli) couscous with its round shape and slightly chewy texture.
As such, it’s perfect for substituting in recipes that typically call for pearl couscous (like tagines and soups), but also recipes that use bulghur (like tabbouleh), farro or quinoa. It’s naturally gluten-free (in fact, it’s what’s used to make gluten-free beer). It’s commonly eaten in Asia and Africa, but is relatively unknown in the Western world at the moment, however I wouldn’t be surprised if it becomes as popular as quinoa very soon!
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD
1 cup Organic Sorghum
700g butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm cubes (leave the skin on)
1 red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Organic Olive Oil, Extra Virgin Cold-Pressed
½ tablespoon Organic Maple Syrup
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
½ cup Organic Whole Pitted Dates, Deglet Noor (chopped)
½ telegraph cucumber, seeds removed, diced
½ - ¾ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
100g feta cheese
¼ cup Organic Paleo Savoury Mix (optional)
FOR THE DRESSING
2 tablespoons Organic Olive Oil, Extra Virgin Cold-Pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon honey
Juice of 1 lemon
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Wash sorghum, drain and cook in boiling salted water for about 45 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite.
Toss butternut and red onion with olive oil and maple syrup on lined oven tray. Season with salt and pepper, and roast for about 30 minutes until caramelised. Scatter cherry tomatoes on top, drizzle with a little more olive oil and a pinch of salt, and continue roasting for a further 15 minutes until tomatoes are blistered.
To make the dressing, heat olive oil in a small fry pan on low heat. Add spices and garlic; sizzle for about 2 minutes, then turn off the heat. Mix in honey and lemon juice.
Drain sorghum. Toss with roast vegetables, dressing, dates, cucumber and parsley. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
To serve, spoon salad onto platter; crumble over feta and scatter over Paleo scatter nut mix (if using).