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Food Buckwheat?

Discussion in 'Tilted Food' started by genuinemommy, Sep 15, 2014.

  1. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    Ok, friends. I need some help.
    I have a huge bag of buckwheat groats and no idea what to do with them.
    I've put them in a slow cooker, added them into soups... but I need some more ideas.
    Anyone cook with buckwheat regularly?
    Any advice?
    Thanks!
     
    genuinemommy, Sep 15, 2014
    #1
  2. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    One thing you might consider is cooking up a large batch, portioning it out, and freezing them. Most grains freeze well. Any chance you could get some milled into flour?

    Otherwise, here's a recipe from Mark Bittman. I haven't tried it, but Bittman is my go-to for weird ingredients.

    1/4 c oil
    1 onion, chopped
    1 potato, peeled and chopped
    1/2 c buckwheat groats
    8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
    Salt and pepper
    4 c of kale, chopped
    8-10 oz firm tofu, cut int 1/2 inch cubes
    2 cups stock or water
    1 tsp chile paste (he makes his own, I would just use sambal oelek or chile-garlic paste)
    2 tablespoons soy sauce

    Cook the onion, potato, buckwheat, and garlic over medium heat, stirring occasionally until everything is dry and sticking to the pan; season with the salt and pepper. Add the greens and cook about 5 minutes; add the tofu and cook until the tofu browns a bit. Add about 1/2 c of liquid, stirring to release the brown bits on the botton of the pan. Add another cup of liquid, adjusting the temperature so the mixture simmers. Check every 5 minutes or so if more liquid needs to be added, and cook until the buckwheat is tender. Season with chile paste and soy sauce; enough liquid should remain so everything is saucy but not soupy or dry. Adjust seasoning; serve.
    --- merged: Sep 15, 2014 at 3:29 PM ---
    Some more info on buckwheat: What is it? Wednesday: Buckwheat | Bob's Red Mill Blog Looks like you can roast it at home and make your own kasha, which would give you more things to do with it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 22, 2014
    snowy, Sep 15, 2014
    #2
    • Like Like x 1
  3. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    Sounds pretty tasty! Thanks, Snowy.
    I've found plenty of breakfast recipes but fewer dinner ideas.
    --- merged: Sep 15, 2014 at 3:30 PM ---
    I'll look up Kasha recipes, too!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 22, 2014
    genuinemommy, Sep 15, 2014
    #3
    • Like Like x 1
  4. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    O'Tay ;)

    Sorry, couldn't resist...and totally predictable. :p
     
    rogue49, Sep 15, 2014
    #4
    • Like Like x 1
  5. Speed_Gibson

    Speed_Gibson Hacking the Gibson

    Location:
    Wolf 359
    I resisted the urge to post the obvious picture as soon as I saw the thread title. Would not fit with my serious and always business like demeanor on he.......hold on a minute, better get the hip waders before it gets too deep.
     
    Speed_Gibson, Sep 15, 2014
    #5
  6. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    To expand on what @snowy said, grinding it into flour using a coffee grinder, food processor, or blender might be ideal for making a bunch of other things. I haven't tried this, but I've read that you'd need something powerful enough to grind the buckwheat. (One site said 200 or 250 watts at least.)

    You could make buckwheat crepes, for example. Perhaps savoury crepes for dinner. Of course buckwheat pancakes would be delicious.

    You could make baked goods.

    I like the idea of making buckwheat noodles, but I don't know how hard that would be. I love me some buckwheat noodles. (EDIT: Never mind. Apparently you need special flour to make proper buckwheat noodles.)
     
    Baraka_Guru, Sep 15, 2014
    #6
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  7. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Yeah. Soba noodles usually have some proportion of wheat flour.
     
    snowy, Sep 15, 2014
    #7
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  8. Baraka_Guru

    Baraka_Guru Möderätor Staff Member

    Location:
    Toronto
    I read that it's also how the buckwheat flour is produced.
     
    Baraka_Guru, Sep 15, 2014
    #8
    • Like Like x 1
  9. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    I have used buckwheat + diced veggies as a filler for salty dinner crepes. The crepes were made with Besan (chickpea) flour. They were quite good.

    I'm not sure that I'd want to put that much stress on my coffee grinder. I think I would just buy buckwheat flour if I really wanted to go in the flour direction... Unless I still have the groats when I am in the vicinity of my mother's industrial wheat grinder.
     
    genuinemommy, Sep 15, 2014
    #9
    • Like Like x 1
  10. Levite

    Levite Levitical Yet Funky

    Location:
    The Windy City
    Kasha varnishkes! One of my all time favorites. Delicious on their own, great as a side dish with chicken, brisket, sausage, etc. Would probably also work, if you're a veg, with tofurkey or an umami very firm tofu dish, or with some sort of baked bean dish.

    2 large onions, thinly sliced into rounds
    1/4 onion diced small
    3 cloves garlic minced fine
    4 tablespoons schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) or margarine or oil
    2 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock for a vegetarian dish
    1 cup kasha
    1 large lightly beaten egg
    Salt, pepper, and paprika to taste
    6 ounces uncooked bowtie pasta (or egg noodles)

    Melt 3 tbsp schmaltz in a large skillet and add onion rounds. Sautee over medium-low, stirring frequently, until onions are carmelizing a deep golden-brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove onions to a bowl and set aside.

    Add remaining schmaltz to skillet, and sautee diced onion and minced garlic, with some salt, pepper, and paprika.

    Meanwhile, cook bowtie pasta in salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

    Also meanwhile, mix uncooked kasha with beaten egg, coating well. Warm a separate medium skillet that has a lid and turn kasha into the pan, patting down flat. Cook over low heat, stirring often until kasha has separated into individual grains.

    Deglaze the pan with the onion and garlic in it with the chicken stock, and bring the stock just to a boil. Pour hot stock into pan with kasha, return to boil, stir, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until tender, 20 to 40 minutes. Toward the end of cooking, set cover slightly askew to allow any liquid to fully evaporate.

    In a large pot or dish, combine carmelized onions, pasta and kasha, mixing well. Season to taste. Reheat if necessary and serve hot.
     
    Levite, Sep 15, 2014
    #10
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