Buttery Herb Millet

This buttery herb millet is first toasted then cooked with broth for added flavor. It’s a great change from pasta or rice, a flavorful side dish!

I just happened to have a pack of millet in the pantry when our Sunday FunDay host for today’s event chose millet for today’s theme. My plan was to grind it up to make millet flour for a completely different recipe. 

The problem was that I have searched and searched and I can’t seem to find that recipe online anymore. So the millet sat languishing unused. I was grateful for the nudge to find another recipe and just use it already. 

Millet is a really nice little grain with a subtle nutty flavor, enhanced by toasting it before cooking. I bought mine at an Indian supermarket but many Asian market sell it also or you can find it online. If you are bored with the potato-pasta-rice rotation, I think you are going to love this!

Buttery Herb Millet

Millet can be cooked with water or stock but I like the flavor the stock adds. If you choose to use just water, you’ll want to add a teaspoon of fine sea salt to the water as well.  

Ingredients

1 cup or 225g millet

2 cups or 480ml broth or stock (from a cube is fine) 

3 tablespoons butter, divided

1/2 medium or 1 whole small yellow onion, chopped finely (Mine weighed 130g)

Small bunch mixed fresh herbs, hard stems removed, chopped finely - I used a combination of chives, parsley, basil and thyme, as shown below.

Method

Toast the millet in a large dry saucepan over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until it turns a lovely golden-brown color. 

This takes several minutes. Be careful not the let the millet burn. 

The photo above is it toasted but it's hard to see the darker toasted color in my pan so I put some untoasted and toasted in little bowls for you, where it becomes more obvious. You are welcome!

Transfer the toasted millet to a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Add the broth to the pot and stir well. 

As the broth warms up, add one tablespoon of the butter and give it another stir.  Bring the broth to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the liquid is almost all absorbed. 

Remove the pot from the heat and set it aside with the lid still on, to rest for a further 10 minutes.

While it rests, melt the rest of the butter over a medium heat in the pan you used to toast the millet. Add in the chopped onion and sauté until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the chopped herbs, reserving a little bit for garnish, and cook 1 minute more.

Fluff the millet with a fork. 

To make sure you don't leave any butter behind in the pan, use a rubber or silicone spatula to add the onions and herbs to the pot. Use the fork to lightly mix them through the millet.

Serve warm, garnished with the reserved chopped herbs. 

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and my friends are all sharing recipes using millet. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host Renu of Cook with Renu. 

• Buttery Herb Millet by Food Lust People Love
• Puffed Millet Granola by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Ragi Idli With Drumstick Sambar/Murungakkai Sambar by Sneha's Recipes
• Ragi Rotti by Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Porso Millet Idli by Cook with Renu

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Crispy Green Herb Patties

From a reportedly Viking recipe, these crispy green herb patties are full of flavor from all the herbs and, of course, from being browned in butter. They make a great vegetarian main or appetizer. 

Today we are “cooking like Vikings,” at the behest of our Sunday FunDay host, Amy of Amy’s Cooking Adventures for Leif Erikson Day, which just happens to be today. 

I’ll be honest, aside from the fact that Leif Erikson was a Viking explorer, I didn’t know much else about him. And I had no idea that there was even a Leif Erikson Day! Turns out that it’s been on the official US calendar since 1964. You can read more about it here: https://www.wincalendar.com/Leif-Erikson-Day And even more about Explorer Erikson on History.com. Thanks to Amy, I am now much better informed!

I found this Viking recipe on a website from the Ribe Viking Center in Ribe, Denmark where archeological excavations have confirmed the presence of Vikings in the past. The original recipe title would translate to green meatballs but the description said that, of course, they were vegetarian so I changed the English name. Calling them green meatballs would just have confused people! And I hope you would agree that plain old “green balls” would have been weird. 

Crispy Green Herb Patties

I’m leaving the ingredients list intact, in case you do indeed have access to nettles, dandelion leaves, bird’s-eye grass, birch leaves and chervil. I don’t but I did find cress, chives and scallions to which I added some parsley and cilantro because they are green herbs and I already had them on hand. How much is a basketful? I have no idea but I leave you this photo of what I used. It’s a bunch of green stuff! 

The original recipe advises: If you do not make the herb patties early in the spring, you should remember to ONLY use the newest, tender shoots.

Ingredients

1 basketful of different, fresh herbs such as nettles, cress, chives, scallions, dandelion leaves, bird's-eye grass, birch leaves and chervil.

1 medium onion (mine weighed 120g)

1 large clove garlic

1 large egg

3/4 cup or 100g coarse wheat flour – I used stoneground wheat 

1/4 cup or 22g oatmeal

1-2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Butter for frying

Optional for garnish: chopped chives

Method

Thoroughly wash the green herbs and discard any tough stems. Spin them in a salad spinner to dry them. If you don’t have a salad spinner, put the herbs in the middle of a towel and bring the sides together securely. Go outside and swing the towel around quickly. Works like a charm. 

Peel and roughly chop your onion and garlic. Put them in a food processor and chop finely. 

Add in the herbs, in two or three groups depending on the size of your processor.

 

Chop finely, occasionally scraping down the sides of the processor with a spatula. 

Measure the flour and oatmeal into a large mixing bowl. Add in the herb mixture and the egg. 

Stir until well combined. 

Add the milk one tablespoon at a time – you might not need it all – mixing well. 

You don’t want it to be too wet or too dry. A spoonful should hold together when you press it into a ball with your clean hands. 

Add the salt and mix well. 

Use a spoon or scoop to divide the mixture into 12-13 portions. Shape them into patties. 

Melt a couple of tablespoons of butter in a skillet. Add the patties, being careful not to crowd the pan. Remember, you will need space to turn the patties over with a spatula. 

You may need to cook them in two batches, adding more butter to the pan for the second batch. 

Cook the patties over a medium heat until they are crispy and golden on both sides. 

Serve warm. Enjoy! 

As mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and also Leif Erikson Day. Check out the Viking recipes we are sharing below. 

• Meatball Lefse Wraps from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Crispy Green Herb Patties from Food Lust People Love
• Kjøttkaker med brunsaus (Norwegian Meatballs) from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Norwegian Havre Kjeks (Sweet and Salty Oatmeal Rounds) from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pannekaken - Norwegian Pancakes from Sneha’s Recipe
• Suaasat, a Greenlandic Christmas Stew from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Swedish Pickled Herring Appetizer from Palatable Pastime

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join. 

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Cheddar Herb Scones #BreadBakers

These fluffy cheddar herb scones have the most wonderful flavor, not just from the cheese and herbs but also from the yeast used as the rising agent.

Most scones, at least in my experience, are raised with baking powder and/or baking soda but this month our Bread Bakers host, Sue of Palatable Pastime challenged us to bake them (or their American counterpart, biscuits) with yeast instead.

I’m here to tell you that yeast can make a lovely light scone as well and almost as quickly, with just one 30-minute rise of the dough before baking. The cheese and herbs are subtle in these scones but that just makes them more versatile.

Cheddar Herb Scones

My recipe is adapted from one on Kitchen Stories. My family ate a few for breakfast but I also served them with pork and bacon patties as a sort of alternative burger for dinner. Delicious!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup or 240ml warm water
2 cups or 250g bread flour
2 cups or 250g all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
Black pepper
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus a little extra for the bowl
3 1/2 oz or 100g extra sharp cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping, if desired
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method
Grate your cheese and set aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix the yeast and sugar into the warm water. It should get nice and bubbly if your yeast is healthy.

Sift the flours and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add in a few generous grinds of black pepper, the grated cheddar, and herbs and mix well.

Add the olive oil to the yeast mixture then add the wet mixture to the dry ingredient bowl.

Stir with a wooden spoon until it’s too stiff to stir. Tip the shaggy dough out onto a clean surface and knead until all the ingredients come together in a tidy ball.

Put a little olive oil in the bowl and turn the dough ball over to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it proof for 30 minutes, in a warm dark place.

When your dough is almost through proofing, preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare your baking pan by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly dusted work surface lightly knead. Pat it into a disc that is about 1 in or 2.5 cm thick. Use a floured cookie or biscuit cutter to cut the dough into 3 inch or 7.6cm circles. Depending on the thickness of your dough, you should get seven or eight scones.

Transfer the dough circles to your lined baking pan. Brush with the beaten egg.

Sprinkle on a little cheddar, if desired.

Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown and well risen. Remove from the oven and serve with butter while still warm.

Enjoy!

If you are a fan of scones or biscuits, this is the Bread Baker recipe list for you! Many thanks to Sue from Palatable Pastime for hosting this month!

• Angel Biscuits from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Buttery Jeera Biscuits from Sneha's Recipe
• Cheddar Herb Scones from Food Lust People Love
• Cheddar and Chive Blossom Scones from Palatable Pastime
• Cheese and Herbs Scones from Ambrosia
• Chocolate Scones from Passion Kneaded
• Freeze and Bake Yeasted Mini Ginger Scones from A Messy Kitchen
• Laminated Biscuits from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Herbed Angel Biscuits from The Schizo Chef
• Sourdough Orange Biscuits from Zesty South Indian
• Sourdough Sandwich Biscuits from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Yeast-Raised Angel Biscuits from Making Miracles

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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