12 delicious Russian RECIPES with BUCKWHEAT
You'll be surprised how many dishes it's possible to make from ordinary buckwheat, or 'grechka', which is how we call it in Russia. And trust us, these are Russians' favorite dishes for every occasion.
1. Just-boiled grechka
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Easy, fast and pure genius. Take buckwheat, rinse, add water at a 1:2 ratio for 15-20 minutes. Or find buckwheat in boil-in-bags, and put in boiling water and leave for 15-20 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve with butter! It's delicious even when served plain, which is the real flavour of Russian peasant life. Try it!
If you don't have much time, then pour hot water onto your grechka and leave overnight (or at least for 30 minutes) - and the healthy carbs will be ready to go!
2. Grechka milk soup
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This can sound and look awkward, but this is the porridge that all Soviet and Russian kids eat for breakfast. Boil grechka al dente, then add milk and boil for another 5 minutes. Add sugar, honey or fresh berries to taste. Brilliant!
3. Grechka with fried egg
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Another breakfast with grechka, and a meal for true champions full of carbs and proteins. Boil grechka and serve with a fried egg. Another option is to mix boiled grechka with a raw egg and fry in a wok for a minute. Add your favorite vegetables or avocado, then sprinkle with grated cheese. Just take a leap of faith - you're gonna love this breakfast!
4. Grechka fried with mushrooms
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This is Russians' favorite side dish that you can find in almost any restaurant menu. But it can easily be served as a main course and is perfect for vegetarians. Fry chopped onion, carrot and any mushrooms on vegetable oil and then add boiled grechka, give it a good mix and 5 minutes rest.
5. Buckwheat with cracklings
Vasilisa Malinka
This is a nostalgic Soviet era porridge, very fatty and tasty. Cracklings, or shkvarki, as we call them, and fried from pork bacon. You can add onion, carrot, mushrooms and other vegetables to your taste. But here's also a secret ingredient! Boiled eggs. Intrigued? Find out the full, step-by-step recipe here.
6. Grechka merchant-style
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Actually, Russians can cook anything risotto-style with grechka. In recent years it even got the name 'grechotto'. So this recipe is Russian-style grechotto bolognese. We bet you should try this. Fry chopped onion and carrot, then add your favorite chopped meat (in traditional recipes it's a mix of pork and beef); fry for a while, add raw grechka and rinse with water - cook on low heat about 20 minutes until grechka is ready. This dish can also be cooked in ceramic pots in the oven just like ancient Slavs used to make it!
7. Grechka balls
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Another nice vegetarian dish. Mix cooked grechka with fried onion, egg and some grated cheese. You can play with recipes and use semolina or flour instead of eggs and cheese. Add greens to taste or any other ingredients that you prefer - mushrooms, vegetables, or corn. Blend it all together, form into balls, then fry, deep fry or bake - and enjoy!
8. Cabbage rolls stuffed with grechka
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You can start with grechka fried with mushrooms, or just onion and carrot - and then stuff it into cabbage leaf; put it into boiled water until it becomes smooth and easy to roll. Make rolls and put into a pan, then pour with your favorite sauce - we Russians usually mix tomato paste with sour cream; then add a little water or broth. But if you need a vegan version, just add water and seasoning to taste.
9. Dumplings with buckwheat
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This is a very old Russian dish that's known since the 16th century, but it's been rather forgotten in recent years. It's called kundiumy - dumplings stuffed with mushrooms and buckwheat (a perfect match!). The secret is that you should not boil but rather bake them. Read the full recipe and history of the dish here.
10. Smoothie with green buckwheat
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Grechka grains are fried - which is why it has a brown color. But one modern healthy trend is using so-called 'green' buckwheat that's raw and unprocessed. Pour green buckwheat with hot water and leave overnight (you can boil it, but this reduces the vitamins). Then add banana, water or milk (or plant milk), honey or sirup to taste and any other fruits or berries that you like - even spinach works well here. Finally, blend it all together! A masterpiece!
11. Pancakes with buckwheat flour
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Buckwheat flour can be a great replacement for ordinary flour, and very helpful if you want to keep fit. You can make buckwheat flour on your own (just dry grechka on a pan and blend it until it turns into flour), or buy a ready one. For tiny Russian bliny add milk, egg, sugar and salt to taste and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry on a heated pan.
Russians can make pancakes from anything! Even beer... Here are other unusual bliny recipes.
12. Buckwheat biscuits
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Another dessert from buckwheat flour. Healthy and tasty. Here it's important to keep the proportions, so mix 150 g of the flour, 3 tbs of cacao powder, 4 tbs of sugar (honey, or syrup by taste), 1/2 ts of soda and 2 g of vanillin. Separately, mix an egg, 100 g of ricotta or cottage cheese, and 90 g of melt butter. Then mix it all together; form biscuits by your hands, and bake on parchment for 20-25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsus.