Happy Thanksgiving!

Last week was the kickoff for my new cooking series “Denise’s Table.” We had a lovely evening of holiday dishes, party tips and great company.

This week’s recipe, Millet with Cranberries, Chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts, was featured at Denise’s Table — and will be on my Thanksgiving table, as well! Chef Karina has a way with millet, that ancient grain that has all of the wonderful nutritional properties of quinoa but not the cost.

The dish also features Brussels sprouts, a tiny member of the cabbage family. You can prepare the Brussels sprouts one of two ways — raw, as described in the recipe, or roasted, as shown in our photo. Or use them both ways! Either way, this is a delicious dish that deserves a place at your Thanksgiving table.

Karina’s Millet with Cranberry, Chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs + 1 Tbs +1 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 3 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Tbs fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
• 1/2-1 cup cooked chestnuts, finely chopped
• 1 cup millet
• 3-4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup cranberries, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for at least 15mins
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 6-8 Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced
• 2 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
• Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium to high heat. Add olive oil and fry onion, celery, garlic, ginger and parsley until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add chopped dried cranberries and chestnuts; cook another 2 minutes until everything has a nice little crunch. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add olive oil and millet to the pan and toast stirring for 3 minutes until its turns a light golden brown. Add soaked cranberries and 3 cups stock; bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Uncover and continue cooking until moisture is absorbed and millet is fluffy.  Taste to be sure it is completely cooked; if it needs a little longer, then return lid to pan turn off heat and let sit for another 10 minutes, it should be soft with no excess water.
4. Stir in chestnut mixture, Brussels sprouts and extra fresh parsley; add lemon juice and tablespoon of olive oil; season to taste.

Karina’s Note

Love chestnuts? Slice an extra cup and stir in with the Brussels sprouts.

Like roasted Brussels sprouts? Slice them in half, toss with 1 Tbs olive oil and sprinkle of salt, roast in an oven heated to 375 for about 20 minutes and add to the dish at the end.

Day-after Thanksgiving treat: when you have lots of turkey leftovers, dice the turkey, stir turkey into the cold millet mixture & shape into burger style patties. Gently sauté until light brown in color and serve with leftover cranberry sauce.

 Download recipe now!

Have a delicious Thanksgiving and a great holiday weekend,

Denise