Oven-Baked Millet

By Martha Rose Shulman

Oven-Baked Millet
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Rating
4(61)
Comments
Read comments

Deborah Madison, in her wonderful new cookbook, “Vegetable Literacy,” put a new spin on millet that may have changed my millet-cooking life forever. She suggests cooking the grain as you would a polenta, which it kind of resembles when it’s cooked, with most of the grains breaking down to a mush while others remain crunchy. I’d always been a bit flummoxed by this uneven cooking and the texture of the broken-down millet (it’s a bit chalky). But serving it like a polenta makes perfect sense. You can serve it soft, right after it’s cooked, or let it set up and then slice it and crisp the slices or use them in gratins, as I do with cornmeal polenta. I was so taken with this idea that I decided to cook the millet in the oven, the way I do for my easy cornmeal polenta, after first toasting it in the pan. It worked beautifully.

Featured in: Lots of Nutrition in Tiny Packages: Itty-Bitty Grains and Seeds

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings.
  • 4cups water (or stock)
  • 1cup millet
  • 1teaspoon salt
  • 1tablespoon butter (more to taste)
  • ⅓cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • Freshly ground pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

177 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 470 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the millet. Toast, stirring or shaking the pan, until the grains begin to pop and smell toasty, sort of like popcorn. Add the water or stock and the salt.

  2. Step 2

    Transfer the pan to the preheated oven. Set the timer for 25 minutes and give the millet a stir. Bake for another 25 minutes. There should still be some liquid in the pan. Stir in the butter and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until the millet is thick and no more water or stock is visible in the pan. Remove from the oven; if desired, stir in the Parmesan. Serve right away, topped with tomato sauce or a stew. Alternatively, allow to cool, either in the pan or spread in a small sheet pan, baking dish or cake pan; when it is solid, cut into squares, slices or rounds, which you can grill, fry or layer in a gratin.

Tip
  • Advanced preparation: The firm millet will keep for 2 or 3 days in the refrigerator.

Ratings

4 out of 5
61 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Comments

Ari

No need for a teaspoon of salt if using the Parmesan. It’s too salty! I didn’t even use salted stock, and it’s way too much. Served with salmon and brown butter cucumbers

Nancy Hall

Are there different kinds of millet? Mine didn’t behave anything like described in the recipe. The water was all gone within the first 25 minutes, and the result was fluffy individual grains, not at all polenta like.

Mia

Love it. Used 1 part homemade chicken broth (more concentrated than store bought), three parts water, salt. No butter. I had some homemade vegan cheese sauce and roasted red peppers in the freezer. Added cheese sauce and peppers at end and then baked an extra 10 minutes. Even without the additional ingredients, it needed extra cook time to firm up. Going to cut into bars and hoping that it will freeze well.

jennifer

So far this recipe is not working out for me. Is the skillet covered once in the oven?

Nancy Hall

Are there different kinds of millet? Mine didn’t behave anything like described in the recipe. The water was all gone within the first 25 minutes, and the result was fluffy individual grains, not at all polenta like.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.