Millet with Spinach and Pine Nuts

Last Updated on April 10, 2018 by Chef Mireille

Continuing on with my 7-day whole grain theme as part of the Blogging Marathon, this is a recipe using millet.  Millet is a grain native to Africa and is eaten regularly throughout the continent.  It is also very common in some parts of India, specifically in the states of Rajasthan and Gujerat, where they eat it as an alternative to rice and it is also milled into flour (bajra atta) and used in breads, such as Gujerati Dhebra.  It has been cultivated in India for many centuries and is also commonly eaten there as a breakfast porridge. (Resource: Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking)

This recipe is from one of my cookbooks, Reader’s Digest Low-Calorie Cookbook.

This cookbook is wonderful if you are on a weight maintenance program, detailing the calorie, protein, fat, carb and fiber content of each recipe.  However, it is also filled with globally inspired delicious recipes – a few examples include Thai-Style Crab Cakes, Fruit and Pistacchio Baklava, New Potatoes with Nori (have made this several times), Beef and Mango Stir-Fry, Paneer and Pea Curry (Muttar Paneer), Dolmades and Gazpacho.  I have made many things from this book and never felt I was eating diet food.

This recipe serves 4 and here is the nutritional breakdown per serving:
Calories: 307, Protein: 7 grams, Fat: 11 grams (1 g. saturated), Carbs: 44 grams, Fiber: 5 grams

Ingredients:
1 cup millet
1/3 cup dried cherries (original recipe used dry apricots, but cherries were what I had in my pantry, so I substituted)
1 quart vegetable stock
4 tablespoons pine nuts
4 cups firmly packed baby spinach leaves
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Add the millet and cherries in a saucepan with the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the millet is tender, about 20 minutes.

It’s going to look really soupy and even though the millet will be tender, you may feel the need to cook longer and let the liquid evaporate, but don’t do it.  The few extra minutes you cook it to wilt the spinach will make the difference.
While the millet is cooking, toast the nuts.  In a skillet, toast the pine nuts until golden brown and fragrant.  Set aside.
Add the spinach and lemon juice to the millet and the salt and pepper.

Cover and leave over very low heat for about 5 minutes, until spinach wilts.  Stir gently.  It will be of a  dense porridge like consistency

Serve with toasted nuts sprinkled on top.

I actually liked this better with the cherries, than with the dried apricots, which I had used the first time I made this.  The tartness of the cherries give it an extra zing of flavor and it goes well with the smoky taste that comes from the toasted nuts.

Please check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#14

….and for another millet recipe…one of them created this fabulous one using millet I can’t wait to try!!!

Recipe also being contributed to Let’s Cook Greens event:

and Chef Al Dente’s

as well as Spicy Treats’ Fiber Rich event

Chef Mireille