Looking for a nice neutral side dish? 

Millet is a much overlooked grain today. Well, technically it isn't a grain so much as a seed of a grassy plant, but for culinary purposes is classified as a grain.  The good news for feast planners is that it is gluten-free, easy to cook, and really cheap.

It was a well-known staple in the Middle Ages, especially in Poland, where many varieties ranging from the small yellow grain we find in the supermarket today, to white, brown, grey, and even blue and purple varieties grew. In Poland it was served as a sort of porridge that was boiled and mashed with a special wooden masher to create a smooth texture. It is the original grain for polenta and was used for bread, as well as porridges.

In general you can treat it as you would rice. Here we have a very nice dish from the Le Viandier de Taillevent, a 14th century French cookbook.  This cookbook was translated into many languages and copied into many formats all over Europe, so you  might include this dish in a wide range of settings.

• 1/2 cup millet grains

• 1 1/2 cup whole milk

• Pinch of saffron or more as desired

• Pinch of salt

Rinse the millet a few times in hot water.  This removes a little of the starch and any remaining chaff or dust. Extraneous chaff, dust or other detritus would likely have been a bigger problem for the medieval cook than with modern millet. So this step could be skipped.

Bring the milk to a simmer over medium heat.

Add millet, bring to a boil without stirring, reduce heat and add saffron, let simmer (Now you can stir) until millet is soft and has incorporated all the milk. Salt to taste.

Makes about 2 cups cooked millet

 This is best served hot from the pan rather than reheated. The amount of saffron used will determine how yellow your millet gets. Use more to get a bright yellow or less if a softer color is desired.

Millet -
Wash it in three changes of hot water and put it in simmering cow’s milk. Do not put the spoon in it until it has boiled, Then remove it from on top of the fire and add a bit of saffron. Boil it until it is done and set it out in bowls.

Le Viandier de Taillevent 14th Century Cookery based on the Vatican Library Manuscript, translated into English by James Prescott
Alfarhaugr Publishing Society, Eugene Oregon, 1989

Other Starch dishes

• Colris
• Herbed Barley
• Potaje de Fideos

Other French recipes

Green Meatballs

French Lamb Pies

Drawing of a millet masher