Kasha with Potatoes, Mushrooms & Cabbage

It occurred to me that I have not done anything with buckwheat in quite a while, which is too bad because it is good stuff. Maybe it would go with potatoes, I thought, and I have these mushrooms that need using up as well. Green veg? Could throw in the last of our (home grown!) cabbage... delicious, absolutely delicious, but I realized as I was doing it that I have basically just swapped out the bow-tie pasta from Kasha Varnishkes for potatoes. Well, a little different and awfully good!

I used duck fat, no surprise, but chicken or bacon fat would work as well. Or even vegetable oil, if you had to.

4 servings
40 minutes prep time

2 or 3 medium potatoes
1/2 cup toasted buckwheat groats (kasha)
2 medium onions
150 grams (5 ounces) fresh shiitake mushrooms
3 tablespoons bacon (or duck) fat
1 teaspoon salt
lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 cups chopped green cabbage

Wash, trim, and cut the potatoes into bite sized slices. Put them into a large pot with plenty of water to cover them, and bring them to a boil. When the water boils, add the toasted buckwheat groats and boil steadily for 12 minutes.

Peel and chop the onions. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and discard them (stems, that is). Slice the mushrooms caps.

Heat the bacon fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and mushrooms, and cook until just softened, about a minute or two. At this point the potatoes and buckwheat should be done; drain them well and add them to the pan. Season with the salt and plenty of pepper, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly to keep the mixture from sticking.

Meanwhile, trim and chop the cabbage. Give it a quick rinse, drain it well, and add it to the pan. It should go in when the potatoes and buckwheat have been in for about 5 minutes. Continue cooking and stirring until the cabbage is crisp-tender, and everything well amalgamated; another 5 or 6 minutes. Serve it up.




Last year at this time I made Flourless Peanut Butter & Honey Cookies.

Posted in: Ontario Food