millet cakes over maché with tahini-pu'ehr drizzle

Last night I joined some lovely friends for an intimate dinner in Spider Lake. I'd been mulling over this recipe for a while, and the complex melange of flavours came together impeccably, I must say! I love drinking tea, especially with Genevieve, and I love cooking with it as well. When you cook grains in rooibos tea, it greatly increases the beneficial antioxidant qualities of the tea, as well as add an earthiness to the flavour and a deep orangey-red colour. The Pu-ehr tea in the dressing adds depth and intense earthiness - there really is no substitute for this tea. Pu-ehr is for conoissours, as it is somewhat of an acquired taste on its own... it tastes remarkably like dirt. It is a digestive tea, as well as is rumoured to lower cholesterol. Part of Pu-ehr's magic is that it is aged in caves in China with a secret method, and because of this has no tannins, and therefore appreciates with time.
This recipe's high on the creativity scale, but involves more layers than the other dishes I've posted so far, so it takes a bit more time. Trust me! You won't regret the time spent wiling away in the kitchen...

serves 6

Millet Cakes

3/4c millet
1 1/2c hot rooibos tea
1/2 tsp salt

1c delicata squash
1 tsp ghee or coconut oil
1 tbsp whole cumin
1c julienned onion
1 tsp garlic
1/2 julienned dried apricots
3c maché or arugula

Tahini-Pu'ehr Dressing

1/4c pu-ehr tea
2 tbsp tahini
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp tamari
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground habanero pepper ( or other spicy that you like)

Cilantro Pesto (I told you I use it on everything!)

Cook the millet for 1/2 hour in the rooibos tea with salt, as opposed to water. When you start the millet, it's helpful to toss the delicata squash in the oven for timing purposes. Meanwhile, heat the ghee and pop the cumin seeds in it. Saute the garlic and onion until carmelized, and dress with a pinch of salt in the process. Then combine the cooked millet, roasted squash, onion mix and apricots in a big bowl and work it with your hands, infusing your good will into the food. Form the mix into six patties and pan-sear them in ghee or coconut oil until golden brown. While that's happening, you can combine all the tahini dressing ingredients in the blender and mix well. Cover six appetizer plates with the maché, place one patty on each, drizzle some tahini dressing ( a squeeze bottle works well for this) and dollop some cilantro pesto on top. Your guests will be most impressed... as will your tastebuds!