Roast Veges & Millet with Thyme Lime Pesto

How did it get late so soon?
– Dr. Seuss

Time is a tricky friend. It speeds up and slows down with no accounting. Some mornings stretch into a peaceful endlessness, only for evening to come around in the blink of an eye. Other days hours pass by so fast that breakfast suddenly becomes bedtime. Some days all of the plans to do this and that fall by the wayside. Other days so much gets done, with time to spare. It’s the ebb and flow, I guess.

Life is always full of lessons, heeded or not. These days mine seem to be about time marching on, and about relinquishing control. And learning to love a messy house.

This recipe is perfect for the time-poor. Or the time-rich who just don’t fancy spending that time in the kitchen. It doesn’t take long to make, and doesn’t require stirring or flipping or puttering over a hot stove. And as a bonus there will be enough pesto for leftovers – store in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks and use to stir through pasta, as a salad dressing, or even spread on toast with a little labneh or goats cheese.

For the moment, millet is my grain of choice. The first few times I cooked millet I ended up with mush. It was very disheartening, so I gave up on millet for ages. This time around though I’ve finally taken the time to get the hang of cooking it properly and wish I hadn’t ignored it all these years! It is a light, fluffy grain with a slightly nutty flavour. Paired with some earthy roast veges and this zesty pesto and voila, dinner!

Enjoy!
Sarah x

Roast Veges & Millet with Thyme Lime Pesto

Ingredients

2 – 3 beetroot
5 – 6 small carrots
1 large sweet potato
½ cup millet
Salt & pepper, to taste

Pesto
½ heaped cup cashew nuts
1 cup baby spinach
1 tbsp thyme leaves
Rind of 1 lime
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Watercress or micro-greens, to serve

Method

Heat the oven to 200°c/400°f. Chop the beetroot, carrots, and sweet potato into smallish chunks. Oil a baking tray, spread the cut veges in an single layer, salt and pepper to taste, and bake for approx. 30 minutes or until the veges are cooked through.

While the veges are baking, cook the millet. In a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat dry toast the millet for 4 – 5 minutes, until it starts to turn golden. Add 1 cup of water, bring to the boil, cover, and simmer until all the water is absorbed (10 – 15 minutes). Remove from heat and let sit for a few minutes before fluffing with a fork.

Make the pesto by adding the cashews, spinach, thyme, grated lime rind and olive oil to a food processor. Process for about 7 minutes, or until it forms a chunky paste. Stir through a pinch of salt and pepper.

Scoop the millet onto a plate along with the veges, drizzle generous amounts of the pesto over the top ,and serve along with a handful of greens.

Serves 2 – 3.

Notes: you can mix up the veges that you roast for this dish – cauliflower, pumpkin, squash, zucchini. And if you need some tips on cooking millet, the kitchn has a great tutorial.