Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Gluten-Free Tuesday: Millet

Posted by glutenfreegirl, November 10, 2009 at 2:30 PM

"Millet was first grown in China, where it was revered for thousands of years as one of their five most sacred grains."

[Photograph: Shauna James Ahern]

Millet is the tofu of the grain world.

OK, I know that might not make some of you hungry. Tofu has a bad reputation, just like millet. Some of us associate tofu with that watery block of white goo, sealed in plastic. Unappetizing. Truly good tofu, however, is made fresh that day, still warm, silky on the spoon, and something else entirely than what you have in your head.

The same is true for millet. Where have you seen millet before? For most of you, that's probably in a bag of birdseed. Yep, millet is the small round grain fed to the birds in the park by crazy old ladies. Does that make you want to eat it? Probably not.

How about this? That salad you see up there? That's a chilled millet salad with red peppers and golden raisins, honeycomb tangerines, goat cheese, red leaf lettuce, and prosciutto. Plus, a little apple gastrique.

Millet does not have to be boring.

Mild and light, little beads of millet have a subtly nuanced sweetness. When I boil them with chicken stock, they emerge golden and creamy. The adaptable millet grain takes on the flavor of whatever it contacts, but it still maintains its clean, clear taste. (Here's another way it's like tofu.)

Millet was first grown in China, where it was revered for thousands of years as one of their five most sacred grains. (Its name in Chinese—xiaomi—translates to little rice.) Millet also grew across the Roman empire, in its heyday. However, as is true for most of the gluten-free grains, millet somehow fell out of favor with the upper classes. Today, millet is regarded as poor man's food through much of the world, including the United States.

On the bright side, this makes it conveniently inexpensive for those of us who need gluten-free grains, or those of us who want to eat good grains in general.

Poor little millet. It actually has more iron than any other grain besides teff, makes a complete protein, and cooks up wonderfully well. Farmers in the Midwest grow it in abundance. But having grown up in Southern California, in the '70s and '80s, I had never heard of it. Certainly, I had never cooked with it, until I had to go gluten-free. Since then, I've eaten millet at least once a week. Mixed in soups, it's slightly nutty, with a soft bite. I adore it with any kind of beans, but especially fava beans. Sometimes, I simply cook it with mushroom stock, then garnish it with ground cumin and handfuls of Italian parsley. Any green vegetable gleams against its golden grains.

Millet flour gives gluten-free baked goods a crumbly texture, which is why I like to fold it into zucchini breads and chocolate chip cookies.

Simmer some millet, then sear some tofu with tamari, fish sauce, and green scallions. Put them all together and you have the perfect meal.

Chilled Millet Salad with Jicama and Mango

- serves 6 -

This salad is from my first book, Gluten-Free Girl.

4 jalapeño peppers
2 cups water
1 cup millet
2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ripe mango
1 medium-sized jicama (about as big as your fist)
2 limes, juiced
1 avocado
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Roasting the jalapeno peppers: Preheat the oven to 500°F. Coat the jalapeño peppers with a little oil and put them in the oven. After five moments or so, pull the pan out of the oven and turn the peppers with tongs. Put them back in and let them skin char, somewhat. This should take about 20 minutes. Put the peppers in a small bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the peppers cool until you can handle them. The charred skin should separate from the flesh easily. (If not, let the peppers rest some more.) Cut off the stem, slice down the pepper, and scrape away the seeds, being careful not to touch them. (If you want the millet to have some real heat, save a few seeds. Be careful, though. They will surprise you.)

Preparing the millet: Set a teakettle full of water to boil on the back burner. Meanwhile, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the millet. Stir the millet, continuously, until it begins to pop. Some of the grains will turn a golden brown, and some may even look like tiny pieces of white popcorn. Do not let the grains burn. When the pot of millet smells toasted—about 7 minutes—pour in the boiling water from the tea kettle. Add the butter and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Simmer the millet over low heat until all the liquid has been absorbed and the millet is fluffy, about 15 minutes. Put the millet in the refrigerator until it has fully chilled.

Slicing the fruit: Peel and slice the mango and cut the fruit into bite-size pieces. Peel the jicama and cut it into matchstick-size pieces. Squeeze the juice from one of the limes over both the mango and jicama and place them into the refrigerator to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Compiling the salad: Chop the roasted peppers and put them into the bowl of millet. Add the marinated mango and jicama. Peel the avocado and cut into small cubes. Add the avocado into the salad. Add the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt, along with the cayenne pepper, and the juice of the remaining lime. Toss the entire mixture together. Marinate for at least two hours.

Suggestions: This salad goes especially well with roasted chicken. You could also try topping the salad with a bit of soft goat cheese or thin slices of prosciutto.

About the author: Shauna James Ahern (aka Gluten-Free Girl) writes one of the most popular gluten-free cooking blogs out there, and has a book of the same name.

9 Comments Favorite this!  (3)

Tags: gluten-free, Gluten-Free Tuesday, grains, jicama, mango, millet, salads, vegetarian