February is already here and, unexpectedly, this year the last three days of January, which by tradition are cold and most often snowy, were pretty mild. Indeed, this first timid attempt of Springtime is now visible in our countryside, since the branches of almond trees are in bloom. In Italy, the last three days of January are called the ‘days of the female blackbird'(i giorni della merla) to remember a poor female blackbird and an old legend that tells us about its adventure to find a safe warm shelter by a chimneypot, where, inevitably, its feathers became dark for the smoke.

   Anyway, it’s still winter season and with a cold weather our body needs more energy to feel healthy and light. This is the reason why today I would like to suggest a smooth tasteful soup made with decorticated millet and artichokes, which is ideal for children and for grown-ups. The millet (panicum miliaceum) is one of the cereals at the base of nutrition for several populations in Asia and Africa. The origin of the millet are found back to the Neolithic and then, again, its use spread during the Middle Age in India, China and Europe. Nowadays, even though the millet has a high nutritional value, it is not very much used in Europe for reasons bound to the production and difficulties for the harvest. On the contrary, India, China, Russia, Ukraine, Africa are the main consumers of this cereal so rich in vitamin A and B, iron, magnesium and silicon.

   Back to this easy recipe, at the food market I have found excellent local artichokes and winter tomatoes. The fragrance of these latter was a sweet epiphany of childhood: a delicious morning snack at school, made of bread, yellow tomatoes, a sprinkle of salt and extravirgin olive oil to share with the best friend. Once, these tomatoes were in every house, like intertwined gems, hanging on the wall of the storeroom. At home, I started frying gently rings of red onions, tomatoes, a hint of garlic and chopped artichokes. After pouring some white wine (choose the one you prefer) and let it to evaporate, I added some vegetable bouillon and kept on cooking for about 15 min (do not forget to add a sprinkle of chily pepper and salt). In the end, I worked the artichokes with a minipimer and made a smooth cream. As second step, the millet was cooked in some vegetable bouillon for about 15/20 min (a full espresso coffee cup or a cup and a half should represents the right portion for a person). Then, I added the golden grains of millet to the artichoke cream, a couple of spoons of bouillon and served the soup with some bread. Children and grown-ups would love it.

   Wish you all ‘buon appetito’!