Pumpkin, date and feta Sorghum tabouleh

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 Isreali) couscous with its round shape and slightly chewy texture.

Salad

• Sorghum 1 cup (I used Ceres Organics sorghum)
• pumpkin 700g, cut into 2cm cubes (leave the skin on)
• red onion 1, chopped
• olive oil 1 tablespoon
• honey or maple syrup ½ tablespoon
• small cherry tomatoes 1 x 250-300g punnet
• dates ½ cup, chopped
• telegraph cucumber ½, seeds removed, diced
• flat-leaf parsley ½ - ¾ cup, finely chopped
• feta cheese 100g
• toasted nuts and seeds (e.g. sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts) ¼ cup (I used Ceres Organics 'Paleo scatter' which is perfect for this)

Dressing

• extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons
• cumin seeds 1 teaspoon, crushed
• ground coriander, smoked paprika and ground turmeric ½ teaspoon each
• garlic cloves 3-4, chopped
• honey 1 teaspoon
• lemon juice of 1

METHOD

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Preheat oven to 200C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.

1. Wash sorghum, drain and cook in boiling salted water for 45-50 minutes or until tender but still firm to the bite.
2. Toss butternut and red onion with olive oil and honey/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.
3. 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.
4. 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 nut and seeds.