Though you might think of bird food when you hear millet, I think of millet croquettes. Millet is quickly becoming one of my favorite whole grains thanks to these croquettes.

Millet often gets forgotten amongst more trendy (pseudo)grains like quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth and brown rice. Just as quinoa, millet is gluten-free, easily digestible, delicious. But unlike quinoa, it is really cheap to buy.

Depending on how you cook it millet can be creamy like mashed potatoes or fluffy like rice. It works quite well in granola too. It truly is one of those grains that can accompany many types of food. Be creative.

I served mine with a cauliflower roast and tomato sauce. Yum!

CAULIFLOWER ROAST WITH MILLET CROQUETTES

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

For the millet croquettes

This recipe makes more croquettes than you’ll need for 2 people but they freeze perfectly, so I made some more.

1 cup millet
1 cup carrot, grated
1 cup white cabbage, f=garted
1 cup onion, finely chopped
Garlic-ginger paste to taste
1 chia egg (1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water)
½ cup chickpea flour
Freshly chopped parsley
Cumin powder to taste
Dried oregano to taste
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
¼ cup cornstarch

FYI: since I use garlic and ginger a lot, I always make a paste of both these days to speed things up in the kitchen. Blend them in a small food processor in equal amounts until a smooth paste. Add to airtight gas jar and store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks. Not interested in making this paste, use minced garlic and freshly grated ginger instead,

Roasted cauliflower

1 small head of a cauliflower
5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp chili powder, or more to taste
1 tsp smoked paprika powder
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1.5 cups homemade tomato sauce

FYI: when I have my day off - and I don’t have any left in the freezer - I usually make some kind of a tomato sauce to freeze for later. It’s easy and quick to make. Since we opened the bakery I have less time for cooking so I need to be smart in the kitchen. Just as I made more of the croquettes above for later, I had some tomato sauce left in the freezer that I could use. Nothing fancy! It contains fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin powder, dried oregano, and smoked paprika.

Salad

¾ cup red cabbage, shredded
¾ cup white cabbage, shredded
¾ cup iceberg lettuce or any other salad greens you like

DIRECTIONS

For the millet croquettes

Cook millet according to the instruction on the package.
Meanwhile, heat cooking oil over medium heat and saute onion for 4-5 minutes. Then add ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 minute more before adding the grated carrot and white cabbage.
Transfer to a mixing bowl. Combine with cooked millet and all other ingredients, except the cornstarch.
Roll into round or oval croquettes and coat with a thin layer of cornstarch. This will help you to cook the croquettes evenly without them falling apart.
Heat coconut oil in stainless steel or cast iron skillet or wok. Fry croquettes for a few minutes or until golden.

Roasted cauliflower

Preheat oven to 200C or 400F.
Mix all cloves, chili powder, paprika powder, olive oil and salt and pepper in a small blender. Coat the head of the cauliflower with the mixture and place it in an oven-safe dish.
Roast for 30 minutes or until soft. Last few minutes add the tomato sauce and cook until heated through.
Cut into steaks and serve with the homemade croquettes and tomato sauce.