Millet Porridge with Pork Belly and Onion Recipe
When I was little, my grandmother often fed us well-cooked grains – and the tastiest of all was a thick millet porridge with cracklings and fried onion. The milk porridges we're used to, buckwheat and oatmeal, were made less often because some foods were hard to come by, but millet was always there, and plenty of it! To be honest, it's probably the only porridge I loved as a kid – it's tasty and filling.
Good millet is always a nice bright yellow color and has no shine (they say shiny grain will taste bitter). It's hulled, polished proso millet – with the husk and germ removed. Check that there are no moths or other pests – that can happen after long storage, and the grain also fades, turning a whitish yellow.
Millet porridge can be runny – that kind is sometimes called “gruel” – fluffy, regular or thick. You can cook it in water or milk, or a mix of the two, which lets you vary the consistency over a very wide range. Dishes made with broth turn out well too. Since millet has a neutral taste, the dish is made by what you add to it – meat and pork fat, vegetables, fruit and nuts, a spoonful of jam or honey, and plenty of other tasty things.
Ingredients
2-3 servings
- Millet 1.5 cups
- Onion 2-3
- Pork fat (salo) 50 g
- Pork belly 150 g
- Salt, black pepper to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- The better the grain, the tastier the millet porridge. Before cooking, be sure to look the millet over carefully for pests. It's also worth rinsing the grain under running water – this washes away the leftover “flour” from polishing and any husks. I soak the millet in cold water for a few hours before cooking, so the porridge comes out smoother. That said, you can skip this – the grain will cook through anyway.
- After soaking, drain the water and rinse the millet again. Usually millet is cooked in three times its volume of water for up to 45 mins. But since the grain has already absorbed some water while soaking, I cook it in twice its volume of water. This gives a fluffy or “thick” porridge. If you want a runnier version, use more water.
- Pour the right amount of water into a pot and add a pinch of salt. Add the rinsed millet and put it on the heat. When the water comes to a boil, stir the grain and cover the pot with a lid. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting that still keeps it simmering and let the millet cook. The grain is usually fully cooked in 20-25 mins. After that it's customary to leave it for a while to “steam through”, although it's already ready to serve.
- While the millet porridge is cooking, prepare a tasty topping. I make it with fried onion and cracklings. I usually buy sliced pork belly that has lots of meat and very little fat, but does have some cartilage. This meat is amazingly good for homemade plov and similar dishes. If there isn't much fat, dice a small piece of pork fat (salo) – plain or smoked – and render it in a frying pan.
- Peel the onion and cut it into thick strips. Dice the pork belly – you can remove the cartilage if you like. Add the sliced onion and pork belly to the pan. Stirring fairly often, fry the meat and onion until they start to brown. Then season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Fry the onion and meat until fully cooked. The best result comes when the onion turns a nice deep golden color – the taste will be incomparable thanks to the caramelized sugars.
- Stir the cooked millet, breaking up the lumps a little. If you cooked the porridge with more water, it will be less thick, so just stir it. Then add the grain to the pan with the onion and meat and stir. Put the pan over low heat and cover with a lid. In 5-10 mins the millet porridge is ready.
- Spoon the millet porridge with cracklings and onion into bowls. I always add a bit more pepper before serving – I just like it, and the aroma gets more intense. By the way, pork goes great with coriander – try adding some while cooking. Serve the porridge hot – as it cools it firms up, although you can always reheat it.
Yield: 2-3 servings Calories: 200 Prep: 15 mins Cooking: 30 mins Ready in: 45 mins (not counting soaking the millet) Category: Main Dishes Cuisine: European Rating: