Still looking for vegan options to place on your table this Christmas? Then this dish is one for you. It would also be a lovely dish to eat those days after Christmas when you want something fresh but still warming in the winter weather. It’s a lovely festive millet salad with kale, parsley, dried cranberries and pomegranate jewels served in roasted pumpkin wedges. Serving it as I’ve done in the photos makes it a lovely dish on a buffet or served family style on the table.
I haven’t included a sauce or dressing more than what goes on in the massaging of the kale as at Christmas we often have plenty of sauces going around but if you did want to eat it as a stand alone meal (which it works perfectly for as well) you might want to make a nice tahini dressing like the one from this recipe.
Now I want to finish off by wishing you all a very merry Christmas! I hope you will have a lovely time with family and?or friends. I’ve now landed in Lodon and am getting into the festive spirit with Rob’s family. Tonight we’re off to see the new Star Wars film which I’m really looking forward to. Going to the cinema is such a cosy wintery thing to do I think. Do you guys agree with me? What will you be getting up to this Christmas? I’d love to hear all about it. x
FESTIVE MILLET SALAD IN ROASTED PUMPKIN BOATS
YIELDS: 8 servings + a bowl of spare salad / TIME: 35 min
1 delica squash, deseeded cut into 8 wedges
A drizzle of olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
3/4 cup millet, uncooked
1 tsp vegetable stock powder
3 large kale leaves, destemmed and cut fine
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 large handful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 pomegranate, the jewels
1/2 cup dried fruit, I used a mixture of dried cranberries and golden raisins
1/2 cup mixed pumpkin and sunflower seeds
*You will end up with more salad than it takes to fill the boats so if you wish to simply have enough for the wedges I’d half the salad recipe.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.
Place your pumpkin wedges on a lined oven tray and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle sea salt and black pepper over them and then make sure the wedges are coated with oil and spices before roasting in the oven for 25 minutes, flipping them over halfway through the roasting time.
Place your millet in a small sauce pan and add the vegetable stock powder as well as one and a half cup of water. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until all the water has evaporated, roughly 15-20 minutes.
Toast your seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat until you hear a popping sound and the seeds are fragrant. Set aside on a plate or bowl.
In a large mixing bowl massage the kale with the balsamic vinegar and a generous pinch of salt. Take a couple of minutes to do this to make the kale less tough, it will shrink to about half the size you started with.
Add your onion, parsley, pomegranate, dried fruit and toasted seeds to the bowl and mix well. And then mix in the millet until well combined.
Place your roasted pumpkin boats on a serving platter or wooden board and scoop the salad onto the wedges. Or simply serve the wedges aside the bowl of salad for serving at the table.
