Adventures in Grains - Kasha
We eat a lot of rice around here, and when our grocery store installed a wall of grain and pasta dispensers a while back, I started getting curious about cooking with some new grains (This part of Georgia is not very 'cultural', but we are starting to get a few things). Long ago I picked up some barley for soups, but I must have been put off by the two hour cooking time and haven't tried anything in a while.
Well, with the last grocery trip I was determined to pick up some quinoa, which I've seen mentioned online a lot lately. (I've actually eaten it before, in a Kashi brand microwavable meal, but with the blend of grains I could not pick it out.) Those plans failed pretty quickly, I could not find it anywhere, but I found a box of Kasha (Buckwheat) instead.
The preparation was quick and intriguing. Bring two cups of broth to a boil with a little butter, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, you beat an egg and stir in one cup of kasha until coated. Here you can see the tiny uncooked grains, coated in the egg.
Next, you heat the kasha in a pan for about 2 minutes to cook the egg and separate the grains. Pour in the boiling broth, cover, and simmer 3-5 minutes and you are done. Still very tiny, but more translucent now. You end up with 4 cups cooked.
I am no good at discribing flavors, but it was pretty similar to a rice or couscous, perhaps a bit nuttier, and with a fun texture from the tiny little grains. Next I am going to look for some recipes. While it is very good on its own, the light pieces threaten to fly all over the place. (The recipes on the box involve preparing as usual and mixing in some sauteed vegetables, and another version where you cook it with milk and serve it with more for a breakfast dish)
Oh, and I had a bit of a scare when I was reading the nutritional information as 170 calories in 1/4 cup. That was printed right on the corner you push in to create a spout, and once I pried out the tab I saw that it was 1/4 cup uncooked and 3/4 cups cooked. Much better! I knew that didn't sound right. It is also very low in fat and high in protein, exactly what the nutritionists tell you to look for.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
pmthreads) wrote,
