Millet-Stuffed Mushroom for One

Just because you’re on your own doesn’t mean you have to eat cold cereal with questionable almond milk and a geriatric banana for dinner. Nope. March right out to the kitchen and do something interesting! After all, aren’t you worthy of a fancy meal every now and then? This one isn’t even difficult and the left-over mushroom will impress your friends when you bring it to work and microwave it tomorrow.

Makes two enormous Portobello mushrooms mounded about three inches high. They’re huge, gorgeous, and delicious.

1 TBLSP olive oil

2 slices yellow onion, diced

1/4 cup uncooked millet (or couscous or other grain)

1 1/2 cups water or vegetable broth, divided

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup raisins (you can use half golden, half black, or maybe try dried cranberries or cherries)

1 slice red onion, diced

¼ teaspoon salt

Freshly cracked pepper, to taste

¼ cup pine nuts or chopped cashews, divided

2 large Portobello mushrooms (or a few small ones—crimini, if Portobello aren’t available)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the olive oil, and sauté the yellow onion until it’s beginning to turn brown.
2. Add the uncooked millet, and allow it to toast for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat, until the millet is slightly toasted.
3. Add 1 cup of water or vegetable broth, bring it to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat. Simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the millet is tender, about 25 minutes.
4. Take it off the heat and add the cinnamon, raisins, red onion, salt, pepper, and ½ of the pine nuts.
5. In a one-serving casserole dish large enough for the mushroom to lie flat in the bottom, add the remaining ½ cup of water or vegetable broth. De-stem the Portobello mushroom, stuff it with the couscous mixture, pressing it firmly into a nice mound but without breaking the darling little mushroom’s back. Place it in the casserole.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Top with remaining nuts and serve.