Weekly Lunch: Millet Salad with Swiss Chard and Roasted Squash

One of the new-to-me ingredients I picked up last weekend was millet. I was really only familiar with millet as either bird food or some kind of 70s hippie vegetarian casserole, but I'm willing to try almost  any food once or twice. The "almost" is referring mostly to organ meats. I was a vegetarian for 8 years after all.

So I picked up a couple of veggies that were on sale, Swiss chard and delicata squash. Added my old standbys, hard boiled egg, chickpeas and feta, and I am all set for the week. The nutty millet, slightly bitter greens, sweet squash, and salty feta makes a great combo and doesn't get boring after eating it for a few days. Plus the millet turned pink after mixing it with the chard! How appropriate for the week of Valentine's day.

Millet Salad with Swiss Chard and Roasted Squash
Makes 4 main-dish servings

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup millet
• 2 3/4 cup water plus a pinch of salt, or use vegetable stock

• 1 bunch of swiss chard
• 1 medium delicata squash
• 1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 2 oz. feta cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of smoked paprika (not critical if you don't already have some, but nice) 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Bring the millet and water/stock to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the millet looks fluffy. Remove pot from the heat and keep the lid on for another 10 minutes or so. Empty into a large bowl and set aside.
2. Separate the chard leaves from the stems. Chop about 1/2 cup of the stems, and roll up the leaves and slice into very thin strips. In a large pan over medium heat, cook the chopped stems in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 3-4 minutes, then add the leaves and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vinegar, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Add the chard to the millet and mix well.
3. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut each squash half into 1/2 inch slices, and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, then roast in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, flipping them over after about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
4. Assembly: layer the millet-chard mixture on the bottom of your reusable container, followed by some squash slices, chopped egg, chickpeas, and crumbled feta.