Main Dish/ Pasta, Rice, Grains/ Russian Monday

Russian Monday: “Grechnevay Kasha” – Buckwheat with Dried Mushrooms, Pumpkin & Onion

Good hearty buckwheat kasha is a serious matter. It’s a thing in itself crowning the whole of Russian cuisine. It requires a responsible and thorough approach when cooking with it, but the rewards are hundredfold. You will appreciate it when, after one helping of kasha, you will reach out for the second one. Today’s recipe is the old inherited one, from along time ago used in Russia – buckwheat with wild mushrooms.

On its own, buckwheat porridge is very tasty and healthy, but with the addition of cooked mushrooms you won’t be able to pull yourself away from it. This recipe is not just to everyone’s liking, but it’s also vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free (unless you serve it with sour cream). Fresh mushrooms can also be used, but buckwheat will be the aroma of the dish and it is the best with the dried ones.

For more Russian recipes, visit Russian Cuisine page.

Grechnevay Kasha - Buckwheat with Dried Mushrooms, Pumpkin & Onion

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup buckwheat
  • 1 cup dried mushrooms, I used dried Portabella mushrooms
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 1 small carrot, peeled, shredded
  • 1 cup pumpkin, peeled, shredded (I used butternut squash)
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. butter
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • fresh herbs and sour cream to serve (optional)

Instructions

1

Place the dried mushrooms in a small bowl and add the 2 cups boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes to soften. Drain the mushrooms, reserving the soaking liquid, and chop the mushrooms.

2

In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter with the olive oil. Add the onions, carrot, pumpkin and sauté, stirring frequently, until brown, about 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the buckwheat and mushroom liquid, season well. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the buckwheat is soft.

3

Ladle the buckwheat kasha into warmed bowls and garnish with the fresh herbs. Serve with sour cream.

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11 Comments

  • Reply
    La Table De Nana
    October 27, 2014 at 12:43 pm

    I have never cooked with buckwheat..interesting! Love that charger and spoon Yelena:)

  • Reply
    Catherine
    October 27, 2014 at 1:05 pm

    This sounds great! and healthy. Catherine

  • Reply
    Rosa's Yummy Yums
    October 27, 2014 at 1:44 pm

    That looks and sounds ever so delicious! A dish I will have to make real soon.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    October 27, 2014 at 4:29 pm

    This is completely my kind of food. I adore buckwheat and have some spare mushrooms and pumpkin along with some good quality dried mushrooms that I have been keeping for a special recipe. I think I just found my special recipe. The weather is promising to be wild here today. The wind is blowing, my wind chimes are singing and it has rained on and off since I woke up and I am thinking that this delicious buckwheat recipe is going to be my dinner tonight. Thank you for the most fortuitous share Yelena, you are sharing your wonderful Russian heritage with us all and I, for one, am most grateful 🙂

  • Reply
    HEAVEN CAN WAIT
    October 27, 2014 at 6:15 pm

    I love buckwheat and this is how I would cook it as well. Such a nice dish. Dried mushrooms harmonize so well with buckwheat! I usually use dried porcini, but I imagine that any dried mushrooms will be great as well.

    Greetings! – Dominique

  • Reply
    Medeja
    October 28, 2014 at 9:05 am

    My mother used to make it a lot..and I never ate 😀 looks nice, so much better than plain one.

  • Reply
    Riddhima Nair
    May 22, 2018 at 9:22 am

    I have never cooked with buckwheat, but it sounds great. Thanks for sharing the post.

  • Reply
    Masha
    July 5, 2020 at 5:21 am

    Hi. Thank you for good recipe. What kind of buckwheat did you use? Buckwheat from Pleasant Hill grain or from Russian store? The reason of asking is because there is different heat processing of the grain in the factory and different time of cooking it.

    • Reply
      Yelena Strokin
      July 7, 2020 at 12:42 am

      Hi Masha, in this recipeI used the buckwheat from a Russian store. Its usually cooks in 15 minuts.

  • Reply
    Lisa L Nisi
    October 17, 2021 at 10:08 am

    I made this yesterday for dinner and it was such a success, thank you so much! Will keep trying different Russian Monday recipes to learn and try new things 🙂

    • Reply
      Yelena Strokin
      October 19, 2021 at 6:09 am

      Thank you Lisa, I hope you will find more recipes for you to cook on my blog.

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