Ian and I have been loving our soups lately. I think it’s the weather – or that I’m almost 34 weeks pregnant and my uterus is pushing on my stomach, not leaving much room for a lot of food.
This soup today is a really simple one with an amazing flavour, if you like mushrooms. I added in pinto beans to mine whereas the original didn’t call for any. I refrigerated the water used the day before to boil carrots and potatoes, and voila: homemade veggie broth! I’ve been wanting to make something with millet and thought this would be a great place to try it. It reminds me very much of quinoa or couscous, so am glad to have another grain to use in our cooking.
Pinto Mushroom Millet Soup
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked pinto beans (optional)
- 1/2 cup uncooked millet (or quinoa or other grain)
- 1 pkg (227g) fresh brown/cremini mushrooms, washed & sliced
- 1 medium onion, peeled & diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups water (or vegetable broth – I had 4 cups of broth and added 2 cups of water)
- Salt, fresh ground black pepper, and red chili flakes to taste
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (I used a vegan Worcestershire sauce)
Directions:
- Cook the millet. In a medium pot, pour the rinsed millet into the dry pot over medium-low heat and let toast for 3-4 minutes. Don’t over toast the millet, they should get slightly browned and emit a slight roasted nutty aroma. Add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until all liquid has been absorbed. Fluff with a fork once finished cooking.
- While the millet is cooking, heat a large pot, along with a little olive oil over medium-low heat. Add in the onions and garlic. Let cook until onions begin to turn translucent. Then add in the mushrooms, salt, black pepper and red chili flakes. Let cook for about 15 minutes.
- Pour in the broth or water and add the Worcestershire sauce. Let simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes. Then using a hand immersion blender, puree a bit of the soup, but keep most of it chunky. Add in the millet & pinto beans, stir it up & serve!
