Millet, Pomegranate & Pistachio Pilaf Renee Naturally
Millet, Pomegranate & Pistachio Pilaf // Renee Naturally
Posted by Renée Leonard-Stainton on 18 February 2014 - 1:29pm

Millet, Pomegranate & Pistachio Pilaf

Studded with nuts and bejewelled with pomegranate, this vegan dish is as aesthetically pleasing as it is tasty. The musky spices and fragrant fresh coriander perfume the dish to perfection. Don't be put off by the long ingredient list...it's really just a dash or pinch of this or that and despite sounding a bit fancy,  is really not a complex dish to make. If you don't have access to millet, you can easily use short-grain brown rice or quinoa. Allure your taste buds with the seductive scents and flavours of Morocco....

Method
  • Drizzle eggplant with olive oil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes
  • Meanwhile, add 4 cups of water and the millet to a saucepan, bring to the boil and then simmer gently for 30 minutes
  • While the millet is cooking, dice the onion and add it to a fry pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. After about 1 minute, add in all of the spices and fry for about 2 minutes, before adding the dried fruit and orange zest. Fry for a further 2 minutes
  • While the millet is cooking, wash and chop the herbs and remove the seeds from the pomegranate
  • Prepare the orange coriander oil by whizzing all ingredients together in a blender, and season to taste
  • Gently roast the nuts in a shallow fry pan until fragrant and golden
  • When the millet is finished cooking, remove from heat. Fold in the herbs, nuts, eggplant, and onion mix and pomegranate seeds. Season to taste
  • Serve with a generous drizzle of the Orange Coriander Oil
  • Enjoy! x
Ingredients
Serves 6
  • 2 cups millet, rinsed
  • 1 onion
  • 1 medium eggplant, chopped into 2 cm cubes
  • Zest of 1 organic orange
  • Olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
  • 2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 2 teaspoons of coriander powder
  • ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
  • ½ cup of dried dates
  • ½ cup of dried apricots
  • 1 teaspoon of sea salt
  • ½ cup packed mint leaves, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup packed chives, thinly sliced
  • Seeds from 1 small pomegranate
  • ½ cup of almonds
  • ½ cup of pistachios
Coriander Orange Oil Ingredients
  • ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 orange
  • ½ cup of packed coriander leaves
  • Sea salt, to taste
Nutrition Bite

Millet -  While it's often called a grain because of its grain-like consistency, millet is actually a seed.  Millet is gluten-free and provides a host of nutrients such as magnesium, manganese and B vitamins. It has a sweet nutty flavour and is alkalizing for the body.

Millet, Pomegranate & Pistachio Pilaf // Renee Naturally
Comments
Nicole - 9 March 2014 - 1:48pm

Tried this last night for dinner and it was delicious!! Thanks for these amazing recipes :)

Renée Leonard-Stainton - 9 March 2014 - 4:22pm

Hi Nicole - oh, awesome! You're most welcome :) Thanks for taking the time to pass on your feedback. Happy cooking! x

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