Salad from Senegal

The Ingredients (for 6 servings):

• 225 g (or 1 cup) of fonio, an African grain, preferably a well hulled and clean brand such as Earth's Goodness
• 10 g (or 2 teaspoons) of salt

• 1 or 2 mangoes, weighing approximately 450 g (or 16 oz)
• 1 small red onion, weighing approximately 240 g (or 8 oz)
• 1 medium Japanese cucumber, weighing approximately 300 g (or 10 oz)
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 1 bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley,  weighing approximately 100 g (or 3½ oz)
• 1 bunch of mint, weighing approximately 60 g (or 2 oz)
• a few sprigs of basil,  weighing approximately 15 g (or ½ oz)
• 60 ml (or ¼ cup) of lemon juice
• 180 ml (or ¾ cup) of salad grade olive oil

Keith mangoes—sweet and tangy with
small, flat seeds and no long fibers

The Method:

1. Place 2 cups of water into a small saucepan that has a fitted lid, add the salt, and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
2. Meanwhile, if necessary, rinse 1 cup of fonio in a bowl of water and pour off the water. Repeat this until the rinse water is clear. (With Earth's Goodness product pictured above, this step is not necessary.)
3. When the salted water boils, turn the burner to its lowest possible setting, pour the fonio into the pan, and immediately place the lid on the pan.
4. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and stir the fonio thoroughly with a fork or fine-bladed spatula to break up congealed lumps of the cooked cereal.
   
5. Remove the pan from the stove and replace the lid, allowing the fonio to cool.
6. From time to time, repeat step 4 until the fonio is at room temperature.
7. Place the fonio into the refrigerator or freezer to further cool it until it reaches a temperature suitable for assembling the salad.
8. As the fonio cools, prepare the other salad ingredients by first peeling the mango and slicing it into approximately 1.5-cm (or ½-inch) cubes.
9. Peel and dice the red onion into the same size cubes.
10. Wash and dice the cucumber into the same size cubes.
11. Wash the cherry tomatoes and halve them.
12. Wash and dry the parsley, mint, and basil, remove the leaves from the tougher stems, and chop them finely.
13. Place the lemon juice in a small bowl or measuring cup and drizzle the olive oil in, whisking with a fork to form an emulsion. (Alternatively, my preference is to place lemon juice and olive oil in a small, screw-top jar and shake it vigorously for several seconds, giving a better emulsion.)
14. When the fonio is cool, empty it into a salad bowl.
    
15. Add the prepared salad ingredients and toss to distribute them evenly throughout the fonio.
    
16. Toss again, adding the salad dressing sparingly until all of the salad has a thin coating.
17. If you have them on hand, sprinkle shelled pistachios on the top of the salad before serving.

The Story:

I modified somewhat a recipe that I found on The Splendid Table website for this salad. In particular, I added instructions on how to cook fonio, an easy but quite specific technique.