The millet and legume soup is a nutritious and delicious first course, easy to prepare using the legumes we prefer. The combination of legumes and grains is always a winner, especially when it comes to winter soups, enjoyed hot when temperatures drop. Whether it’s pasta, rice, barley, farro, or couscous, the result is always extremely filling and tasty dishes. Today we thought of preparing a soup with a grain often overlooked but perfect for preparing all kinds of dishes throughout the year, millet. In fact, in summer we can prepare excellent and fresh salads, in autumn and spring we can pair it with seasonal vegetables cooking it like a risotto, and in winter it’s the ideal ingredient for soups, broths, and purees.
The preparation is very simple: we sautéed an onion with oil and added previously rinsed legumes. In our case, we used dried fava beans, dried peas, and peeled red lentils. Then we added the peeled millet and let it flavor for a few moments, also adding some tomatoes which can be replaced with tomato paste, and covered with hot broth. We let it cook for about 30-40 minutes until a dense and creamy soup was created, which we flavored with oregano, salt, and pepper, and a pinch of turmeric to give it an extra note of color and flavor.
Having chosen peeled legumes or legumes with similar cooking times, we cooked everything in the same pot. But if you decide to use beans, chickpeas, or lentils, use the canned ones, or if they are dried legumes, cook them after soaking them overnight in water.
This completely vegetarian or rather vegan soup, as there are no animal-derived ingredients, is perfect for both lunch and dinner also as a single dish, as it contains carbohydrates, proteins, and minerals, and is very filling. You just have to try it!
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- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Very Cheap
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 703.60 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 114.44 (g) of which sugars 8.20 (g)
- Proteins 38.90 (g)
- Fat 9.75 (g) of which saturated 1.22 (g)of which unsaturated 1.73 (g)
- Fibers 23.41 (g)
- Sodium 1,250.00 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients to Prepare Millet and Legume Soup
- 5.3 oz millet, hulled
- 7.1 oz dried fava beans
- 7.1 oz dried peas
- 7.1 oz peeled red lentils
- 4.2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 onion
- oregano
- ground turmeric (optional)
- extra virgin olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Tools to Prepare Millet and Legume Soup
- 1 Pot
- 1 Lid
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Stovetop
Steps to Prepare Millet and Legume Soup
Prepare the millet and legume soup by first rinsing all the legumes well and soaking them for 1-2 hours. Rinse them well to remove any soil residues or small stones.
Peel the onion and slice it thinly.
Sauté it in a pot with olive oil, then add all the legumes.
Rinse the millet under plenty of running water until the water runs clear, and pour it into the pot.
Add the tomatoes diced.
Stir for a few minutes over high heat, then pour in hot vegetable broth or hot water to completely cover both the legumes and the millet.
Let it cook covered over medium heat for about 30-40 minutes or until all the legumes and millet are well cooked. At the end of cooking, you can add the salt, pepper, and flavor with oregano or other herbs, and if you like, also with turmeric.
Serve the millet and legume soup with a drizzle of raw oil for each dish and with slices of toasted bread.
Simo and Cicci recommend
You can store the millet and legume soup well sealed in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, or freeze it.
You can use other types of legumes such as beans, chickpeas, lentils. In this case, if you choose one of these three legumes, cook them first if using dried ones after soaking in water overnight, or use pre-cooked legumes.
