Recipe: Kasha Varnishkes
No smell reminds me of Rosh Hashanah like kasha varnishkes.
Serves 4-6 as a side dish.
Ingredients
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 C buckwheat groats, medium granulation
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (or schmaltz if you have it)
- 1 C diced onion
- 2 C beef broth, hot
- 1 lb. bow-tie (farfalle) noodles, cooked according to package directions
- Mix the beaten eggs and groats until egg is absorbed. Set aside.
- In a large fry pan with lid, saute the diced onion in oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned.
- Add the egg-groats mixture to the pan and toast until the granules look dry and separate.
- Add the hot broth to the pan, cover, and lower heat to simmer.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Combine cooked noodles and cooked buckwheat. Toss and serve.
Variation: Pappardelle with brisket & kasha
My grandmother or mother would typically make kasha when she was also making braised brisket, and enhance the kasha with the brisket gravy and some shredded meat.
The version below uses the meat as the base of a sauce and treats it more like an Italian pasta dish.
- 3 lb. beef brisket
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 3 onions, sliced
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- 1/4 C all-purpose flour
- 2 C broth (combination of beef & chicken)
- 1/2 C dry red wine
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried
- 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 2 lb. pappardelle, farfalle, fusilli, or rigatoni
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- Pat brisket dry with paper towels, season with salt & pepper.
- Heat oil in large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown beef on both sides, then remove to a plate.
- Add onions, brown sugar, 1/4 tsp salt to the pot and cook over medium heat until onions are well browned, 10 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the the flour and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the broths, wine, bay leaves, and thyme, scraping browned bits from bottom of pot. Add the brisket and bring to a simmer.
- Cover pot and transfer to oven. Cook until a fork slides easily in and out of center of brisket, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
- While brisket is cooking, prepare kasha as above.
- Cool brisket in liquid. Skim off extra fat, discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Stir in vinegar and adjust seasoning with more salt & pepper.
- Chop meat into bite-sized pieces, or shred meat with forks.
- Cook pasta according to package directions.
- Toss warm meat, kasha, and pasta together. Add enough brisket cooking liquid to coat all the pasta. Add chopped parsley & serve.