This delicious mango salad features a hint of chilli, a bit of lime and some feta; it gets its body from the woefully underused millet!
Grain, Mango, Cucumber and Feta Salad
This delicious light main course millet and mango salad contains ingredients that in the main are available all year round. It is light, nutritious and packed full of flavour.
At the heart of the recipe is some toasted millet. A relatively new ingredient in my cooking arsenal, but one that I have come to love using.
This is then joined by feta cheese, which provides a salty-sour note, mango for sweetness and chilli for heat.
I love feta, and it really does work so well with a little sweetness. I have dishes like baked feta cheese with honey and a peach and feta cheese salad that really capitalise on this.
This recipe has a very similar flavour profile to my ham and cheese salad recipe with pickled peaches and warm chicken and mango salad however, this one is vegetarian.
It is incredibly simple to make, but it is very much best served at room temperature. As a result, you need to show a little patience!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is millet?
Millet is an ancient grain that is used to make everything from beer to bread, and it absolutely rocks at the heart of this fruit, sweet, sour and salt salad.
It is relatively neutral in flavour with a mild nuttiness that is enhanced by tasting it.
Do I have to grill the mango?
No, but I think that it does give a little extra in this recipe. You could use a blow torch, which is quite often the route that I take to save a little on time.
Can I make this in advance?
Yes, the great thing about this recipe is that it can be prepared in advance and even in bulk.
Once cooked, the millet will last for 4-5 days in the fridge. Do not dress the millet with the lime juice and oil before storing.
The mango can also be sliced and prepared, and if covered with cling film will be fine in the fridge for a couple of days.
If you omit the salad leaves and add them before serving, you can even prepare the rest of the salad. It will last for 3-4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Serving Suggestions
For me, this is a light main course salad that just begs to be eaten in the garden on a sunny day with a glass of wine.
However, it does work really well stuffed into a lunch box and taken to work.
You can even use it as a side salad, it is particularly good with bacon wrapped pork tenderloin!
It also works really well with chicken, everything from the lemon grilled chicken or even my crispy cornflake chicken would work wonders with this mango salad.
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 28cm or 11" frying pan with a lid.
- Grill, broiler or blow torch.
- Chopping board.
- Kicthen knife.
- Vegetable peeler.
- Salad bowl.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
Millet Salad Recipe with Mango, Cucumber and Feta
Ingredients
- 75 g Millet ⅓ Cup
- 1 Lime
- 150 ml Water ½ Cup plus 2 tablespoon
- 15 g Butter 1 Tbsp
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Mango
- 50 g Lambs Lettuce 3-4 Cups
- 75 g Feta Cheese ½ Cup
- 100 g Cucumber
- 1 Red Chilli Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
Instructions
- Place a 28cm or 11" frying pan with a lid on a medium-high heat, and when it is hot, add the millet and toast for 3-4 minutes.
- Pour in the water, add the butter, a generous pinch of salt and then squeeze in the juice of half of the lime juice. Bring to a boil, then add a lid, reduce the temperature to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and allow the millet to cool for 30 minutes with the lid on.
- Cut the Mango into long strips.
- Deseed and shred the chilli.
- Cut the cucumber in half lengthways, then remove the seeds, then shred the body of the cucumber with a vegetable peeler.
- Clean the salad leaves.
- Crumble the feta cheese.
- When you are ready to serve, place the mango under a searingly hot broiler for 2 minutes or give it a quick blast with a blow torch.
- Pour the olive oil into the millet and squeeze in the other half of the lime juice.
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well before serving.