While less buzzy than quinoa or oats, every whole food devotee should have a good millet recipe on hand. This ancient grain is gluten-free, high in antioxidants and magnesium and a powerful anti-inflammatory food that’s worth getting to know. As spring seeps into our cozy winter haze, we’re looking to gorgeously grounded recipes like these to entertain with. This millet polenta comes to us from the mama and daughter blogging duo behind our new go-to cookbook, Simply Vibrant.
Millet is a versatile, gluten-free grain, which works surprisingly well as a light substitute for corn grits in any polenta-like dish. Creamy, zesty, and fragrant, this millet polenta serves as the perfect bed for pungent greens and crispy spring vegetables.
Millet Polenta With Spring Vegetables And Greens
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
sea salt
1 1/2 lbs spring greens (dandelion greens, mustard greens, arugula, spinach, etc.)
2 cups total of one or any combination of fresh green peas, fava beans, sugar snaps, snow peas, chopped asparagus, and/or chopped Romanesco
2 Tbsp unpasteurized miso paste
1 Tbsp mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
1 cup millet, soaked in purified water overnight
1 Tbsp neutral coconut oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
juice of 1 lemon
6 cups hot vegetable broth or water from blanching the vegetables
1 Tbsp tamari
Directions:
Bring a large soup pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
Meanwhile, trim the tough ends off your greens, if necessary. When the water is boiling, add the spring greens and blanch for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on how tender and young or mature your greens are. For instance, baby spinach and baby arugula need less than a minute, while mature dandelion stems will need about 3 minutes to soften. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the greens to a colander and rinse them under cold water; set aside to drain.
Next, using the same boiling water, blanch the peas or fava beans for 30 seconds; snow peas, sugar snaps, or asparagus for 2 minutes; and Romanesco for 3 minutes. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a colander and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking process. If you don’t have vegetable broth for cooking polenta, reserve 6 cups of the blanching liquid and keep it hot over medium-low heat.
Squeeze the excess water out of the blanched greens and chop them roughly. Chop the sugar snaps, snow peas, asparagus and/or Romanesco into bite-size pieces; set aside. Place the blanched greens in a food processor and pulse into a rough purée. Add the miso paste, mustard, garlic, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil; process until the purée is very smooth. Scoop the purée into a bowl and set it aside. Rinse the bowl of the food processor.
Drain and rinse the millet, then place it in the food processor and grind until it is broken down but not completely smooth; this will ensure that your polenta still has some bite to it.
Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and stir around for a minute, until fragrant. Add the millet and a pinch of salt, stir to coat, then add the lemon juice and mix until it is absorbed. Add the hot vegetable broth or reserved blanching water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the mixture looks smooth and creamy. Stir frequently to prevent the polenta from sticking to the pan.
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the tamari to the polenta, stir well, then stir in half of the green purée. Add the remaining green purée and fold it in by stirring just a couple of times to create uneven green pockets within the polenta.
Distribute the polenta among individual bowls. Top with the blanched vegetables, drizzle with some more olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.
From Simply Vibrant by Anya Kassoff © 2018 by Anya Kassoff. Photographs © 2018 by Masha Davydova. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Grab another gorgeous recipe from Simply Vibrant here (hint: it involves honey-candied kumquats).
Millet Polenta With Spring Vegetables And Greens
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
sea salt
1 1/2 lbs spring greens (dandelion greens, mustard greens, arugula, spinach, etc.)
2 cups total of one or any combination of fresh green peas, fava beans, sugar snaps, snow peas, chopped asparagus, and/or chopped Romanesco
2 Tbsp unpasteurized miso paste
1 Tbsp mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
1 cup millet, soaked in purified water overnight
1 Tbsp neutral coconut oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
juice of 1 lemon
6 cups hot vegetable broth or water from blanching the vegetables
1 Tbsp tamari
Directions:
Bring a large soup pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat.
Meanwhile, trim the tough ends off your greens, if necessary. When the water is boiling, add the spring greens and blanch for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on how tender and young or mature your greens are. For instance, baby spinach and baby arugula need less than a minute, while mature dandelion stems will need about 3 minutes to soften. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer the greens to a colander and rinse them under cold water; set aside to drain.
Next, using the same boiling water, blanch the peas or fava beans for 30 seconds; snow peas, sugar snaps, or asparagus for 2 minutes; and Romanesco for 3 minutes. Use a large slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a colander and rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking process. If you don’t have vegetable broth for cooking polenta, reserve 6 cups of the blanching liquid and keep it hot over medium-low heat.
Squeeze the excess water out of the blanched greens and chop them roughly. Chop the sugar snaps, snow peas, asparagus and/or Romanesco into bite-size pieces; set aside. Place the blanched greens in a food processor and pulse into a rough purée. Add the miso paste, mustard, garlic, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil; process until the purée is very smooth. Scoop the purée into a bowl and set it aside. Rinse the bowl of the food processor.
Drain and rinse the millet, then place it in the food processor and grind until it is broken down but not completely smooth; this will ensure that your polenta still has some bite to it.
Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and stir around for a minute, until fragrant. Add the millet and a pinch of salt, stir to coat, then add the lemon juice and mix until it is absorbed. Add the hot vegetable broth or reserved blanching water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the mixture looks smooth and creamy. Stir frequently to prevent the polenta from sticking to the pan.
Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the tamari to the polenta, stir well, then stir in half of the green purée. Add the remaining green purée and fold it in by stirring just a couple of times to create uneven green pockets within the polenta.
Distribute the polenta among individual bowls. Top with the blanched vegetables, drizzle with some more olive oil, and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.
From Simply Vibrant by Anya Kassoff © 2018 by Anya Kassoff. Photographs © 2018 by Masha Davydova. Reprinted in arrangement with Roost Books, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.
