Wild Mushrooms, Millet and Green Harissa

When wild mushrooms come out to play, I’m a sucker for them. My boyfriend Paul laughs at how over the top I am about them, but to me they are always worth the wait for their short-lived season. Served with a medium spiced harissa and a simple grain, here are the mushrooms do all the talking. 

Serves 2–3 

Ingredients 

For the Harissa: 

• Two cloves of garlic, crushed 
• One large jalapeno, deseeded if you like  
• A large handful of fresh coriander, stalks included, roughly chopped  
• A large handful of fresh mint leaves roughly chopped; stalks composted  
• 2 large handful of fresh parsley, stalked included, roughly chopped 
• 1 large lemon, juiced plus a dash of zest 
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted 
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted 
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar of apple cider vinegar 
• Salt and pepper 
• Approx 125 olive oil  
• ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional) 

For the millet and mushrooms:  

• Approx 350 g dried millet grain  
• 1–2 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 small shallots, thinly sliced 
• 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced  
• 65 ml white wine or 2 tbsp white wine vinegar (if you’d like to omit the alcohol)  
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 
• 1 small lemon juiced, plus a dash of zest 
• 2 heaped tsp dried mixed herbs/oregano 

Method

Start by making the harissa. Put the garlic, jalapeno, coriander, mint, parsley, lemon juice and zest, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and vinegar into a blender (or put them into a bowl and use a hand blender). Season with salt and pepper and blitz for a minute or so then add the olive oil and continue to blend until you have a rough paste. Taste and adjust, adding the chilli flakes if you like, and adding any extra oil to loosen. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.  

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the millet, bring to a simmer, then cook until al dente (about 12 minutes). Once cooked, drain any excess water and cover to keep warm. 

While your millet is cooking, heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan, then add the shallots and fry until they start to soften and brown. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute or so, being careful not to burn the garlic. 

Go ahead and add the white wine, mustard, lemon juice, zest and mixed herbs/oregano. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a low boil and add the mushrooms, stirring to coat them with the liquid.  

Cook the mushrooms for about 10 minutes, until they soften and start to make the sauce a lot richer in colour, seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Add the chickpeas and stir. Add 2–4 tablespoons of the homemade harissa stirring to combine and heating through. 

Serve the millet topped with the mushrooms and an extra dollop of the green harissa. Scatter over some freshly chopped herbs and enjoy. 

Nutrition per portion 

Recipe from The Whole Vegetable by Sophie Gordon (Penguin, Michael Joseph, £28) – photography by Issy Croker.