Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook (50 page)

1 cup
Fresh Tomato Salsa

Chopped cilantro

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Add the vegetable stock to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the millet and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the millet is tender.

3.
Place the onion and poblano pepper in a large saucepan and sauté over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and black pepper and cook for another minute. Add the miso, tomato puree, and nutritional yeast, if using, and mix well. Add the millet to the onion mixture, season with salt, and mix well. Spoon the millet mixture onto a nonstick rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

4.
Remove the millet from the oven and, using a spatula, break apart the mixture.

5.
Spread the corn tortillas on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 10 minutes.

6.
To assemble the tostadas, place a tortilla on each of 6 individual plates. Divide the refried beans between the tortillas, and spread them over the tortillas. Top the beans with some of the millet mixture, followed by the romaine lettuce and salsa. Serve garnished with the cilantro.

THIS DISH MAKES great use of fresh herbs. You can substitute dried if necessary, but the freshness of the herbs really makes a huge difference in flavor.

SERVES 4

2¼ cups
Vegetable Stock
, or low-sodium vegetable broth

¾ cup millet

1 medium leek (white and light green parts), diced and rinsed

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, diced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon minced thyme

1 tablespoon minced dill

3 cups chopped cabbage

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1.
In a medium saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil over high heat. Add the millet and bring the pot back to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the millet is tender and all the vegetable stock is absorbed.

2.
Place the leek, carrot, and celery in a large saucepan and sauté over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the vegetables from sticking to the pan. Add the garlic, thyme, dill, and cabbage and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked millet and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

UNLIKE MOST VEGETARIAN “meatloaves” that use beans, grains, or processed soy foods for the filling and taste nothing like Mom’s, millet makes a great loaf, since it takes on the flavor of whatever spices you cook with it. Make sure to put the mixture into the baking dish as soon as you finish incorporating the spices—millet loses its binding power as it cools. (If that happens, just add 
Barbecue Sauce
and make Sloppy Joes.) Sliced leftovers make great sandwiches—I like mine simple, on whole-grain bread with Dijon mustard.

SERVES 6

2½ cups
Vegetable Stock
, or low-sodium vegetable stock or water

¾ cup millet

1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced small

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon sage

1 tablespoon thyme

⅛
teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons mellow white miso, dissolved in ¼ cup hot water

¼ cup nutritional yeast, optional

¼ to ¾ cup
Tomato Sauce

Salt to taste

½ cup ketchup, optional

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Place the vegetable stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the millet and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the millet is tender.

3.
Place the onion in a large saucepan and sauté over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the onions from sticking to the pan. Add the garlic, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and black pepper and cook for another minute. Add the miso, nutritional yeast (if using), and ¼ cup tomato sauce and mix well. Add the millet, season with salt, and mix well.

4.
Immediately spoon the mixture into a nonstick loaf pan and press it firmly into the pan. Top with an additional ½ cup tomato sauce or ketchup and bake for 30 minutes.

5.
Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before slicing.

VARIATIONS

Millet Loaf can be readily transformed into Barbecue Millet Balls. Prepare 1 batch of Millet Loaf. Using a small ice cream scoop, or a scant ¼ cup measure, form the millet mixture into balls and place on a nonstick baking sheet, or a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350°F preheated oven. To serve, divide the millet balls between six plates and spoon 3 cups heated
Barbecue Sauce
over them. They do not sit well in the sauce for any length of time, so pour the sauce over them just before serving. Serve these with a salad and a cooked grain of your choice.

The Barbecue Millet Balls can also be made into Swedish “Meatballs,” probably the most well-known Scandinavian dish. Prepare the millet balls as in the variation above, through baking. While the millet balls bake, place 2 batches of
No-Cheese Sauce
in a small saucepan and add 1 teaspoon nutmeg. Cook over low heat until heated through, about 5 minutes. To serve, divide the millet balls between six plates and spoon the sauce over them (again, the millet balls do not sit well in sauce for any length of time, so add the sauce no more than 5 minutes before serving). Serve these over pasta, with brown rice, or as an appetizer at your next potluck.

SERVE THIS DELICIOUS dish with
Coriander Chutney
 and brown basmati rice.

SERVES 6

3 cups
Vegetable Stock
, or low-sodium vegetable broth

1 cup millet

1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced small

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon curry powder

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons mellow white miso, dissolved in ¼ cup hot water

2 tablespoons tomato puree

¼ cup nutritional yeast, optional

Salt to taste

1 batch Red Pepper Coriander Sauce (below), warmed

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.
Place the vegetable stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the millet and bring the mixture back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the millet is tender.

3.
Place the onion in a large saucepan and sauté over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Add water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time to keep the onions from sticking to the pan. Add the garlic, curry powder, and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add the miso, tomato puree, and nutritional yeast, if using, and mix well. Add the millet, season with salt, and mix well.

4.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using an ice cream scoop or a
⅓
-cup measure, shape the millet mixture into 12 round cakes. Place the cakes on the prepared baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes.

5.
To serve, spoon some of the warm Red Pepper Coriander Sauce onto a plate and top with two of the millet cakes.

 
Red Pepper Coriander Sauce

1 package extra firm silken tofu, drained

2 large red bell peppers,
roasted
and seeded

3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

¼ cup
 chopped
 cilantro

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth and creamy. Warm in a saucepan before using. Refrigerate any unused sauce in an airtight container.

Quinoa and Other Grain Dishes