Buckwheat Kasha with Mushrooms and Onions
Photo: Samurai2593, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Toasted buckwheat cooked in water and piled with a skillet of browned onions and mushrooms. This is weekday monastery food: filling, cheap, and fully compliant with Orthodox fasting rules.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups toasted buckwheat groats
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 12 ounces mixed mushrooms, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or dill
Instructions
Rinse the buckwheat. Combine it with the water and 1 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Rest covered 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until deep gold, 12 to 15 minutes.
Push the onions to the side. Add the remaining oil and the mushrooms. Cook without crowding until the mushrooms brown and give up their liquid, 8 to 10 minutes.
Stir the onions and mushrooms together. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Fold the mushroom mixture into the buckwheat, or spoon it over each bowl. Finish with herbs.
Notes
Orthodox fasting: no meat, dairy, or eggs. Use toasted buckwheat if you can find it; it stays fluffy. On oil-free days, dry-toast the mushrooms and onions in a hot pan, then finish with a splash of water.