Buckwheat Kasha with Cooked Vegetables
Toasted buckwheat grains plumped in water, tender and nutty, mingled with long-cooked sweet vegetables. Rustic, filling, and deeply Russian.
Toasted buckwheat grains plumped in water, tender and nutty, mingled with long-cooked sweet vegetables. Rustic, filling, and deeply Russian.
People think I dine on rare delicacies; in truth, I love what all the Russian people eat — kasha. As a child at the Imperial School, it was served steaming in the morning, and I never lost the taste for it. First, toast the buckwheat in a dry pan until it smells like hazelnuts: that is the whole secret. A little melted butter on top, tender vegetables, and the body is satisfied without being heavy.
- •Buckwheat (gretchka) — two glasses (base)
- •Butter — a good knob (binding and flavor)
- •Carrots and turnips — a few (cooked vegetables)
- •Onion — one (flavor)
- •Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Buckwheat Kasha with Cooked Vegetables
Toasted buckwheat grains plumped in water, tender and nutty, mingled with long-cooked sweet vegetables. Rustic, filling, and deeply Russian.
Why this dish? Pavlova's diet was based on cooked vegetables and simple, regular foods. Buckwheat kasha, the quintessential Russian national dish, present from the imperial table to peasant cottages, is the sober everyday dish that matches her dietary discipline.
People think I dine on rare delicacies; in truth, I love what all the Russian people eat — kasha. As a child at the Imperial School, it was served steaming in the morning, and I never lost the taste for it. First, toast the buckwheat in a dry pan until it smells like hazelnuts: that is the whole secret. A little melted butter on top, tender vegetables, and the body is satisfied without being heavy.
Ingredients (period version)
- Buckwheat (gretchka) — two glasses (base)
- Butter — a good knob (binding and flavor)
- Carrots and turnips — a few (cooked vegetables)
- Onion — one (flavor)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Hulled buckwheat (kasha) — 200 g (base)
- Water or broth — 400 ml (cooking liquid)
- Butter — 30 g (binding and flavor)
- Carrot — 1, diced (cooked vegetable)
- Turnip or parsnip — 1, diced (cooked vegetable)
- Onion — 1, sliced (flavor)
- Dill, salt, pepper — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Toast the buckwheat dry in a pan for 3-4 minutes until it smells nutty.
- Sweat the onion and diced vegetables in a little butter.
- Add the buckwheat to the vegetables, pour in hot water or broth, salt, cover, and cook over low heat for 15-18 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
- Let rest off the heat for 5 minutes, add remaining butter and dill, then fluff the grains with a fork.
How it was made : Kasha was traditionally cooked in the Russian oven (pech): the pot was placed in the evening and the porridge cooked all night in the declining heat. A democratic dish if ever there was one, a Russian saying goes 'kasha is our mother'.
The contemporary twist : Top with a soft-boiled egg and sautéed mushrooms for a complete brunch bowl — buckwheat is trendy again.
Anna Pavlova · Charactorium
