Fennel, Kale, and Millet Risotto

Creamy was my favourite adjective in the title of any dish as I was growing up. It's not something I've been able to let go of. Despite the fact I remember never being able to make it through a cream-rich dish before my stomach grew queazy from dairy excess. As I became more focused on what was in my food, making the effort to use whole foods and fully understand what I was putting into my body, I grew more aware of the connection between what I ate and how I felt. It seems bizarre to me now that I had such a love for foods that made me feel so awful. A lot of people feel the connection between a food and a memory, or a certain social context, and block out the bodies physical response to what is being consumed. The expression of our social culture through food is an important link,  maintaining the bond between individual, tradition, and identity. But now that intensive commercial food production inserts itself so mercilessly into our daily lives, we have to remain mindful of who is maintaining this bond and manipulating our hunger. This soft creamy risotto is full of satiating fats that make you feel warm and cosy, without the dairy that disagrees with so many of us. Coconut cream stirred through right at the end gives all of the rich flavour and luxury where it has the greatest impact, in the foreground.  Healthy fats are so important in our diet but we really don't need the amount of fat we often consume on a daily basis, hidden below the surface in processed foods; every element of the meal cooked with its own drizzle of oil, oils absorbed into foods adding the caloric weight without the overtly satisfying flavour that tells our brain we are receiving the nutritional goods. So we add a little more on top. Adding a whole fat source like coconut cream, avocado, nut or seed butter, addresses our primal desire for fats in an honest and upfront way. You can taste each ingredient in it's own right, it's nutritional value laid open to our human instinctual desires for what nourishes you. 

Millet is one of the more obscure grains that you will not find on many tables. When I was little my mother used to give my puffed millet for breakfast. It looked like the tiny babies of those styrofoam balls used as packing material. It squeaked between my teeth and got stuck up around my gums. We used to laugh about the crazy 'bird food' we had in the house, but my mother was well ahead of her time. Feeding her children obscure grains like millet, buckwheat, barley. She was the first person I even saw eat quinoa. I adamantly turned my nose up at those grass flavoured little tadpoles she was having for breakfast. These days however, I never have the same grain two days in a row. Despite all the nutritional controversy, whether to grain or not to grain, I find a colourful variation of whole grains fills me with energy and makes we feel grounded. Millet is a small grain, similar size to quinoa. Once its cooked it breaks down and becomes soft and creamy so it makes the perfect grain for porridge and risotto.

I love risotto because it can constantly be adapted. The vegetables in this recipe can be replaced with whatever you have in the fridge, or whatever turns up in your vegie box. This isn't a recipe that you have to follow to the letter, its more of an idea for you to reinterpret as it pertains to you. The fennel and leek that I have used make for a subtly sweet risotto that can be loaded with herbs for a light spring meal. But it’s amazing with any kinds of crazy mushrooms and extra thyme, or pumpkin, a bit of chilli and some nutmeg. 

This recipe can easily be made with water but the vegetable stock adds an extra level of flavour. Because I live in an apartment with no composting facilities, making vegetable stock gives me something to do with my vegetable waste. I can never bring myself to throw it away. Everything has a a little flavour to impart a pot of simmering water. Like making soup from a stone, the scrappy vegetable ends and sad droppy greens you forgot were in the hidden depths of the fridge, add a little extra magic. I keep a bag of vegetable trash in the freezer until I have enough to fill a pot. Just cover with water and put over a low heat. You will know its ready when your house smells like sweet vegetables. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week or freeze it to take out whenever you need. 

Spring Millet Risotto
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Two tablespoons of olive oil
One small onion, finely chopped
One small leek cut in half lengthwise and slice thinly 
Half a fennel bulb, thinly sliced plus extra for topping
Two cloves of garlic
One cup of millet
Fresh or dried thyme
Three to four cups of vegetable stock or water
One cup of coconut cream
One teaspoon of salt, plus extra to taste
Black pepper
Juice of half a lemon
Fresh parsley, chopped
Small bunch of kale, ripped from the stems
Fennel tops, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a medium pot and add the onion, leek, fennel, and garlic. Let this fry on a moderate heat until you can smell the garlic and vegetables are glossy, soft and translucent. 
While this is cooking start to heat your vegetable stock in a pan, or if you are using water you can just boil the kettle. It doesn’t have to be boiling but using cold liquid arrests the cooking process so the warmer the better. 
Add the millet to the pot and continue to fry for another five or so minutes. Browning the millet like this adds an extra toasty depth to the finished risotto. 
Add the thyme to the millet mix and continue to cook for a few minutes until the thyme is beautifully fragrant. 
Add the liquid to the risotto about half a cup at a time, stirring until most of the liquid has gone, and then continue adding more liquid. After the first three cups add the coconut cream and the salt.
Depending on the temperature of the stove and the size of the pot, you may need more water. Taste the risotto at this point, if there is still a little crunch to the millet go for the extra cup, or if you like a softer risotto you can add even more. 
Once you’ve found the consistency that you like, stirred through a few twists of cracker pepper, a splash of lemon juice and a handful of chopped fresh parsley. 
Chop half of the kale and stir through the risotto. 
Leave the rest of the kale in roughly torn pieces and mix with the extra sliced fennel and a drizzle of olive oil. Massage this salad until the kale is glossy and the fennel is soft. 
Spoon the risotto into bowls with a handful of the kale and fennel to garnish, sprinkle over the chopped leafy fennel tops and a little more cracked pepper. 
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The green tops of the leek, ends of the onion, tough stalks of the fennel bulb, and the stalks from the herbs and kale can all be put in a pot of water and gently simmered for the next few hours, while you enjoy your meal, to make fresh stock to replenish your stores.