How to cook Millet

Last week I was in Brussels visiting some dear friends and the city, my very first time there. Frédéric Vergez, my best friend and promising cook, invited me to dinner to show me how to cook gluten free millet properly, healthy and tasty, great!

Besides millet is a good source of iron (I am always in need of it…!), vitamins B1 and B3, phosphorus, magnesium and copper.

Frédéric loves concocting new recipes that are vegetarian, with products locally sourced and Ayurveda influences sprinkled here and there. If you want to get to know him a bit better, Frédéric has a Facebook page where he promotes his cooking as well as his events:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Frederic-vegetarian-cooking/106327096374535?fref=ts

STEP 1

Before start cooking it, like many gluten free grains, millet needs to be soaked so put it in a large bowl with water and let it rest from 10 to 20 minutes – not more.

STEP 2

Rinse the millet under fresh water until the water looks completely clean and pure.

STEP 3

When you decide to learn to cook properly, utensils in the kitchen become key. I still don’t have one myself but Frédéric tells me that to cook millet and other grains, it would be better to use a wok pan made of ceramic.

Put the pan over low heat, add the millet and have it toast for a couple of minutes. Add hot water, put a lid on the pan and start cooking the millet slowly and gently.

For the proportion, basically for one cup of millet (by cup Frédéric means those used for American coffee or a mug), add two cups of hot water.

To us, it took about 10 minutes to be ready – we cooked quite a large quantity that will suffice for another dinner 😉

Turn off the heat and don’t open the lid. Let the millet gently finish its cooking thanks to the steam in the pan.

Cooking food over low temperatures takes more time but it helps preserving the food properties. It is an act of love towards the food we prepare and towards ourselves as well. As Frédéric tells me, cooking like this preserves the energy within the food that will become ours when we eat it.

STEP 4

Add a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and with the help of a fork start gently separating the millet grains. It is preferable to use a wooden fork to avoid scratching the ceramic wok. Let the millet cool down.

STEP 5

Now the millet is ready and you can use it as it most pleases you.

Frédéric chose to mix it with chopped parsley, coriander, dried tomatoes, ginger, black pepper, salt, cumin, toasted seeds of sunflower and pumpkin, extra virgin olive oil and the juice of one fresh lemon.

I have to say it made one delicious millet taboulé!

A recipe so simple yet so full of taste.

That is something that I love to learn: from the simplest foods, the simplest ingredients, you can create easy recipes that are gluten free, healthy, natural and so good.

Merci Frédéric !

pS My dear friend lives on the roofs of Brussels, such a nice view……………..!