Spring millet salad with tangy seeded flax dressing

If you prepare the full amount of millet you will be left with about 2 cups cooked. It can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days and stirred into pancakes, bread or baked goods. Millet gets dry once it cools, so reheat it before eating plain. Alternately, you could halve the millet and not have anything left over.

In this salad, I stopped the millet from becoming dry by tossing it with the salad dressing while still warm. Allow any leftover salad to come to room temperature…but it is best the day it’s made.

A medium leek will work in place of ramps (wild leeks). It could also be topped with a crumble of goat cheese instead of avocado, or both.

Serves 2 to 4

Millet

1 cup millet, washed and soaked over night in 2 cups water

2 cups filtered water

Sea salt

Dressing

4 tablespoons flax oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons tamari

1 tablespoon toasted sunflower seeds, chopped

1 tablespoon toasted pumpkin seeds, chopped

1 tablespoons hemp seeds

For the salad

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch ramps, bulbs and leaves thinly sliced and kept separate

1 cup frozen peas

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and shaved lengthways with a vegetable peeler

Sea salt

To serve

1 avocado, diced

Chopped chives

Radish sprouts

Cook the millet: drain and rinse millet and place it in a small pot, add filtered water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover pot, lower heat and simmer 20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.

Make the dressing: whisk together all the salad ingredients and set aside. Remove half of the cooked millet (about 2 cups), place in a bowl and fluff with a fork. Pour ¾ of the dressing over cooked millet and mix well, breaking up any lumps. Set aside while you cook the vegetables.

Make the salad: warm olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add ramp bulbs and sauté for a couple of minutes or until softened, stir in ramp leaves and sauté until wilted, about a minute. Add peas and cook until heated through and bright green. Stir in shaved asparagus and sauté until softened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat immediately, add to dressed millet and toss to combine.

To serve: spoon salad into bowls and top each portion with avocado and drizzle with remaining dressing. Garnish with chives and radish sprouts.