Kasha with Mushrooms and Onions

Kasha is buckwheat that has been hulled and roasted (NOT to be confused with Kashi which does have buckwheat in it, but also has wheat in it). It’s a tasty grain that cooks up quickly. It’s good on it’s own, but cooking it with herbs, onions etc make it even better.

Caramelized onions add flavor to kasha and most anything else

The traditional way to cook kasha is to mix the grains with egg before cooking. This helps the grains cook up separately. You can skip the egg if you want, it will still taste good, but it will be a bit mushy.

Kasha mixed with egg-you can see how the egg coats the grains

Kasha with Mushrooms and Onions

Makes 6-8 servings and can easily be halved

2 large onions (yellow, red or white or a mix), cut in half and sliced into thin half moons

10 oz of mushrooms (crimini are better than white button) washed and sliced

2 cups kasha

2 eggs

4 cups of water or stock

olive oil

salt and pepper

Beat the eggs slightly in a bowl. Stir in the kasha until thoroughly combined. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on med high. Add the onions and cook stirring occasionally until caramelized about 15 minutes. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside. Add another tablespoon of oil to the skillet and then add the mushrooms. Cook stirring occasionally until brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and remove mushrooms with slotted spoon and put in the bowl with the onions. Keep the skillet on the medium heat. Put the kasha and egg mixture into the skillet. Cook stirring constantly about three minutes until the egg looks dry and the kasha smells toasty. Stir in the 4 cups of water or stock, breaking up any clumps. Cook stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in the onions and mushrooms and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot or warm.

Finished kasha with mushrooms and onions

More photos here. I like to eat this with Roasted Roots and Squash, pictured above.

Buckwheat and Yogurt Pancakes

This is one of the few times where I will actually include a recipe, because it’s my own. I haven’t mentioned this before, but everything I cook is gluten free by default. It has to be, because my husband cannot tolerate gluten. It’s not just a dietary preference, it makes him quite sick. It’s not worth the extra effort for me to cook separately,(and risk contamination) so other than the occasional bowl of oatmeal or bagel for myself, I don’t prepare any food with gluten (that’s wheat, rye, barley, oats and anything even possibly derived from them). If you want to know more about the trouble some people have with gluten in their diet, the Celiac Disease Foundation is a good place to start. If you are looking for recipes, (esp. for breads) I suggest the Gluten Free Gourmet series by the late Bette Hagman. There a lot of people blogging about it, too, but I have to admit I haven’t looked too closely at what they are doing.

If you are new to cooking gluten free, pancakes are a good start to making something you might be craving when traditional mixes and recipes are off limits. They are not too fussy to make and are very satisfying. It’s too much for me personally to try to make pancakes on a workday, but I make them for weekend brunch or even for dinner. Give it a try, it might even encourage you to look into making your own pizza crusts, bread, etc.

Nowadays, you can find in most stores at least a few gluten free baking products, and often pancake mix is there on the shelf with the rest of the stuff. If you are going gluten free for the long hall, you should consider making your own stuff. It will taste better and it will be less expensive.

Buckwheat has been cultivated for food by people for thousands of years. It is not related to wheat. However if you buy products with buckwheat in them, such as pancake mix or noodles, be sure to read the label carefully if you are trying to avoid wheat. Often buckwheat is mixed with regular wheat to make these products. It has a sort of earthy flavor which is a bit strong to use on it’s own for most palates.

Buckwheat and Yogurt Pancakes (Printer Friendly PDF)

Feeds 2-4 depending on how hungry everyone is

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup buttermilk powder
(if you don’t have or can’t find buttermilk powder you could use milk powder, or leave it out and substutute a ¼ cup more rice flour; use if if you can, it adds a nice tang to the pancakes)

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup plain yogurt (lowfat or whole milk, either work just fine)

1 tbs vegetable oil

2 tbs maple syrup or honey (or use sugar and add to dry ingredients)

1/2 cup of milk, soymilk, nutmilk, apple juice, or liquid of your choice, plus a little extra if needed

extra vegetable oil for pan or griddle

Start by lightly oiling your cooking surface and heating it on medium. By the time you get the pancake batter ready, it will be hot enough. Naturally, if it starts to smoke, you can turn the heat down a bit. Starting with an adequately hot pan or griddle is one of the main secrets to pancake success. If you are going to cook up the whole batch before serving, turn your oven on to 200° F and put in something oven proof to hold your cooked pancakes, a plate, a pan, a covered dish, what have you.

Whisk together dry ingredients (the flours, the baking powder, the buttermilk powder and the salt) in a small bowl (if you don’t have a whisk,use a fork). Beat the eggs, yogurt, vegetable oil, and maple syrup/honey together in a separate larger bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients into the egg mixture alternately with the milk (or whatever liquid you are using). The batter is pretty thin and liquidy. You can see what I mean in this unbelievably bad quality video, but it’ll give you the idea.

Use a small measuring scoop or a large spoon to pour out portions of batter onto your hot cooking surface. Two tablespoons per pancake is about right (you can eyeball it, don’t worry). Unless you have a restaurant style flat top grill in your kitchen, you’ll probably only want to do two or three at a time, so you have enough room to flip your pancakes. Cook until the edges look dry, the surface isn’t as shiny, and lots of little holes cover the surface (see bad video below), somewhere between 2 and 3 minutes. Flip the pancakes (a spatula is the best tool) and cook the other side for another 2 minutes or so. Serve your pancakes right away, or keep them warm on that plate you put in the oven earlier while you cook the rest.

Use a paper towel with some veg. oil on it and carefully put a little more oil on your cooking surface before each new round of pancakes. Stir your batter a bit before you spoon it out, as it has a tendency to settle.

You can top these any number of ways, be creative. The traditional topping is of course butter and maple syrup (please spring for the real stuff, esp. if you live in New England). If your syrup is in the fridge, leave it out on the counter while you make the pancakes so it’s not ice cold when you pour it on. Cooked fruit is also nice. You can put some frozen berries in a pan with a little water and some sweetner, bring to a boil and cook them on medium until saucy, which takes the same amount of time as it takes to cook up your batches of pancake. You’re already standing there at the stove so why not?

Buckwheat Yogurt Pancakes with Blueberries