Meatless Mondays: Autumn Explosion Bake

<Meatless Mondays is a national campaign that asks people to cut out meat from their diets one day a week in order to improve personal and environmental health. Change.org provides a seasonal, vegetarian recipe every Monday. For more Meatless Mondays meal options, see here, here, here, here, here, and here.

OK, this "bake" is really a casserole, but I have bad associations with that word (think tuna noodle and anything involving Campbell's Soup as a main ingredient). Autumn Explosion Bake is an apt name, though, as most of the flavors I associate with fall burst out of this dish into a wonderful medley that's easy enough to prepare for a weeknight dinner, but impressive enough for the Thanksgiving table.

Another great thing about this dish is that it's flexible. Don't have any millet? Try quinoa instead for a different flavor and texture. And you don't need to use pumpkin, either — any winter squash will do. Even a sweet potato would work in a pinch. If you can find fresh cranberries, though, it does add a lot to the dish.

The foundation for this recipe came from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I've added to it and tweaked it a bit, but I would be remiss if I were not to credit him with the creation of this dish. His book (and everything else he does) is great, and I highly recommend it. If you're looking for more ways to eat less meat, getting a good vegetarian cookbook like Bittman's is your best start.

Autumn Explosion Bake
Serves 4

1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup dry millet
1 small pumpkin (or any other winter squash), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh cranberries (or dried)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
12 sliced sage leaves, or about 1-2 teaspoons dried
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
Salt and pepper, to taste

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and grease a 9x13 baking dish or other large casserole dish with half the olive oil.

2) Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the millet. Cook, stirring constantly, until the millet is just barely golden and fragrant. It shouldn't take more than 2-to-3 minutes. Spread millet into the prepared baking dish.

3) Add the cubed pumpkin, onion, cranberry, spices, sage, syrup, and a few pinches of salt and pepper to the baking dish. Carefully pour the water or stock over everything, and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Cover tightly with a lid or foil, and bake undisturbed for 45 minutes.

4) Increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees, and carefully remove the foil or lid. Taste a spoonful of the millet to make sure it's done. The texture should be firm, but not gritty. If it's not quite done, add a little more water or stock and cook, covered, for and additional 5 minutes. When done, remove the cover, sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, and bake another few minutes until the top and edges just begin to brown.

Photo credit: Muffet via Flickr