Sorghum is sweet and goes great with pesto. Toss it with whatever vegetables you have on hand and create a new recipe for your family.

Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world. Globally, sorghum is used as food for developing nations within Africa and Asia because of its high nutritional value and it’s easy to farm.

Sorghum is a beautiful bushy crop with vibrant orange and yellow pod clusters, which can grow up to 8 feet, resembling tall corn stalks. This drought resistant, resilient grain has many uses including both fuel and food. In the U.S. it is mostly grown and harvested in the Midwest. Recently, the demand for sorghum has increased because of its naturally gluten-free nature and the demand in the food industry for food products utilizing sorghum flour.

Sorghum is fiber rich and 1 cup of sorghum provides 12 grams of fiber, which is about half of the fiber you need in a day! Additionally, that same cup also provides 21 grams of protein, about half your daily requirement of iron and phosphorus but it doesn’t stop there; sorghum is also full of antioxidants.

Sorghum can be used in a variety of ways. Whole sorghum kernels can be cooked the same way you would prepare brown rice. Once cooked the kernels are tender, with a mild taste. The kernels can also be popped up like popcorn. It can be found online or in natural grocery stores and packaged as the whole grain or milled into flour.

Today I experimented with my rice cooker and I programed it to cook brown rice and it came out great. I also had a beautiful bunch of aquaponic basil that I turned into pesto and I wanted to utilize the sorghum in a cold pesto salad recipe. The pesto recipe is just the standard 2 cups of basil leaves, 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, juice of 1 lemon, 1 large clove of garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. I pulsed it in the food processor until smooth and creamy.