Millet Risotto with Wild Mushrooms

This is an excellent meatless main dish. It also makes a delicious
accompaniment to roasted or grilled meats. You don’t want to serve
millet along with fish. It’s an old Gullah legend that eating millet
and fish together will make you sick and we don’t want to run into any
trouble….

Makes 6 servings as a first course, 8 as an accompaniment, 3 to 4 as a
main course.

Ingredients:

2 ounces dried cèpes or porcini mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 2
hours, well drained (save the liquid!)
1 large portobello mushroom
4 ounces crimini mushrooms
2 ounces shiitake mushrooms (or chanterelles, if you can find -- and
afford -- them)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup hulled millet seeds
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-sized red onion, very finely sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 7/8 cups homemade chicken stock (or purchased stock), water,
mushroom soaking liquid, or a combination of liquids
1 bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly ground white pepper to taste
chopped fresh chervil for garnish (use flat-leaf parsley if you can’t
find chervil)

Preparation:

Prepare the mushrooms. Drain the dried mushrooms, carefully saving all
the liquid in a cup. Dry them on paper towels and slice as thinly as
you can. (This is not easy!)

Wipe off the tops of the rest of the mushrooms. Do NOT wash them! Cut
off and discard the end of the stem of the portobello mushroom.

Remove the remainder of the stem and chop it coarsely.

Cut the cap in half and, holding your knife at an angle, slice the cap
into 1/8-inch thick slices. Slice the crimini and shiitake mushrooms
at an angle and heap all the mushrooms together on a plate.

Heat a 10-inch sauté pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons
extra-virgin olive oil and when it is hot, but not smoking, add the
mushrooms and sauté.

Use a wooden spoon to move them around so they will brown on all
sides. Sauté until they are golden brown and all the liquid they gave
off has evaporated.

Remove them from the heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, place the millet in the large heavy saucepan you will use
to make the risotto and stir over medium-high heat until the seeds
turn golden, about 5 minutes.

The millet will pop slightly as it browns.

Watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and pour
into a small bowl.

In the same pan, place 2 more tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
and when it is hot but not smoking, add the sliced onion.

Stir to separate the onion slices and when the onion has gotten limp,
turn the heat down to medium low and add the garlic.

Let the mixture sweat an additional two minutes.

Add the toasted millet, stirring to mix with the aromatics. Add all
the liquid, the bay leaf, sea salt and the crushed red pepper and stir
to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat so the
mixture simmers gently and cover the pot very tightly.

Let the mixture cook for exactly 20 minutes.

Then, remove the pot from the heat, but DO NOT open it. Allow the
millet to sit for 10 minutes undisturbed. This is very important to
the texture of the finished dish.

At the end of 10 minutes, uncover the pot and add the mushrooms. Taste
and adjust seasoning, adding sea salt and freshly ground white pepper
to taste.

Fluff the mixture with two forks.

Teacher’s Tips:

Be sure to toast the millet in a dry pan before using in ANY recipe.
This improves the texture of the finished dish because it allows the
millet to become light and fluffy and removes the “bird seed” quality
most people find objectionable.

Besides tasting good, millet is excellent for your digestive system.
It’s a wonderful break from the usual rice, pasta, potatoes syndrome,
so do try including it in your menus.

Wine Tip: A red Savigny-les-Beaunes (especially one from Maurice
Écard) pairs deliciously with the earthy mushrooms.






http://www.neopets.com/refer.phtml?username=duckiewoman