Kasha

My mom made Kasha a lot!!!! It was a staple in out house…kind of like pasta in some other houses…. & I had no idea what Kasha actually was when I was a kid, now I know it is roasted buckwheat My aunt made Kasha Varnishkes.. which is kasha & tradition Ashkenazi Jewish dish that combines Kasha & small bow-tie pasta….. it is so good.

Kasha is pure roasted buckwheat. I have bought buckwheat in bulk & have tried to make Kasha…but I don’t know… I use the one my mom always used & somehow it is better… haha  I am sure it is just because this is what I grew up with… but of course if you can not  find Wolffs Kasha… buy roasted buckwheat…

So the thing about Kasha is it is kind of tasteless on its own. If you are going to serve with with a meat dish that has gravy & you put the gravy on the Kasha..this is delicious. If you add fried onions to the kasha this is good if using it on its own as a side dish…Just as rice is kind of bland tasting..so is Kasha. Make sure you season the Kasha after it is cooked with salt to taste. You can use broth to cook the Kasha in if you have it in the house, most of the time so use water. I ususally serve Kasha with a food that has gravy…brisket, pot roast since it a delicious way to soak up all of the wonderful juices from the pan..I served this Kasha with the pot roast  Pot Roast in the Instant Pot

 

The preparations simple. You put 1 cup of Kasha into a pot & fry the kasha…then add an egg & water & cook

Here is how I make Kasha

Ingredients

1 cup kasha

1 good pinch of kosher salt

1 beaten egg

2 cups of water or broth, chicken or vegetable

Method

1. Using a small pot…put the Kasha & salt in & kind of fry it…. though there isn’t any oil in the pot… until it becomes fragrant… stir often, this takes about 2 minutes
2. Push the Kasha around to the edges of the pot so there is a hole in the middle of the kasha…
3. Add the beaten egg & stir the egg into the Kasha…bringing the kasha into the egg & cooking the egg at the same time…. try to make sure that the egg is distributed among all of the kasha…
4. Now… turn the heat down & slowly add the water… if the heat is too high it will splatter so be careful
5. Cover the pot & have the temperature on med/low
6. Simmer the Kasha until all of the water is absorbed…Takes about 10 minutes
7. Fluff with a fork
8. There are different ways to serve Kasha… you can fry up some chopped onions in oil & add to the kasha..if you are doing this I add the kasha to the fried onions in the frying pan so that the kasha gets mixed with the onions & the oil…
9. You can Kasha Varnishkes... by adding a cup of cooked bow-tie pasta,  so cook 1 cup of bow-tie pasta and set aside… fry up onions & cook the kasha.  then you are going to combine all of it… add the kasha to the frying pan with the onions, stir to make sure all of the kasha is coated with the oil & onions.. then season to taste with salt, then add the cooked bow–ties & mix well.

Enjoy!