Grechnevaya Kasha

the toasted buckwheat groats of the Russian table simmered until tender and fluffy and enriched with plenty of butter, the everyday comfort grain that is as near to a national dish as any in Russia

Origin: Russia

From the journey of Buckwheat.

If any one grain belongs to Russia, it is grechka, buckwheat, and its homeliest and most beloved form is grechnevaya kasha, the buckwheat porridge. The toasted, reddish-brown groats are simmered in water or stock until each grain is tender, separate, and fluffy, then crowned with a generous knob of butter, in keeping with the old proverb that 'you cannot spoil kasha with butter'. It is eaten at any hour and in any role: as a breakfast porridge, as the side to a stew or a piece of meat, as a filling for pies and poultry, and as the first solid food given to children and the gentle restorative of the convalescent. Plain, nourishing, thrifty, and deeply comforting, kasha carries an emotional weight in Russia, Ukraine, and their neighbours that is hard to overstate; the word itself stands, in countless sayings, for home, for harmony, and for a thing done together. This is the simplest and truest version, the daily grechka of the Slavic kitchen.

Ingredients

  • 200 g toasted buckwheat groats (kasha)
  • 400 ml water or light stock
  • 0.75 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten (optional, for separate grains)
  • 40 g butter, plus extra to serve

Method

  1. If your groats are raw and pale rather than pre-toasted, toast them first in a dry pan over a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until they smell nutty and darken slightly.
  2. For the fluffiest result with separate grains, stir the beaten egg through the dry groats in the pan and toast for a minute or two until the egg dries and coats each grain. (You may skip this for a plainer porridge.)
  3. Add the water or stock and the salt and bring to the boil. Stir once, cover, and reduce to the lowest simmer.
  4. Cook, covered and undisturbed, for 18 to 20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed and the groats are tender. Take off the heat, dot with the butter, cover, and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
  5. Fluff with a fork, fold the butter through, and serve hot, with more butter on top.

Notes

Cooking the kasha in mushroom or beef stock, with a few fried onions or dried mushrooms stirred through, turns it from a side into a meal. Leftover kasha fries beautifully in butter the next day. Green (untoasted) buckwheat can be used for a milder, paler porridge but lacks the signature roasted depth.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

Mapping Culinary History

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route
Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control
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