![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/buckw_miso2pp.jpg\" "\\"buckw_miso2pp\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Buckwheat is cultivated in as different countries as Russia, Japan, France and Brazil. Japanese soba noodles and soba shochu<\/a>, Russian blini \u0433\u0440\u0435\u0447\u043d\u0435\u0432\u0430\u044f \u043a\u0430\u0448\u0430, French “gallettes” or savoury pancakes, bo\u00fbketes in Belgium, Polish “kasza gryczana” (hulled grains, usually roasted), Italian pizzoccheri,… All those are made from the same plant.<\/p>\n Belonging to the Fagopyrum<\/em> genus, buckwheat is not a grass, nor a cereal, even though it looks like one. Its qualities are so numerous, it is surprising most of the Western countries never consume it. It is very rich in protein, minerals, antioxydants, iron and doesn’t contain any gluten, so can be consumed by people who don’t tolerate it. \u00a0Apart from all these healthy sides, buckwheat grows very quickly and easily. That is why it can be cultivated in cold climate and crops can be easily multiplied in hot regions.<\/p>\n The older I get, the more I like buckwheat – based products, and especially buckwheat groats, e.i. hulled grains. They are a bit crunchy and a bit soft at the same time. They have a very pleasant nutty aroma and a tiny hint of bitter taste. I don’t know if it is due to my temporary deficiency of one of its healthy components or if it’s a simple food craving, but sometimes I want it so much, I must have it in the following hours. In Switzerland (like in most Western European countries) the only easily obtained buckwheat groats are not roasted and lack the nutty flavour the roasted ones have. Luckily Russian and Polish shops carry roasted groats and luckily they exist in most European countries, USA or Canada, where the buckwheat groats’ name (“kasha”) has Polish\/Russian origins.<\/p>\n I usually have buckwheat groats as a side dish (they are perfect with pork\u00a0roast<\/a> and the Polish\u00a0pork stew with allspice<\/a>), but they also make a good ravioli or vegetable stuffing. I don’t know why, but I have never tried to mix them with Asian ingredients. However, a couple of days ago, I thought about the Japanese soba noodles, remembered I had a miso (Japanese soybean paste) dressing in the fridge and decided to combine them. It is difficult to describe how excellent this Japanese-Polish fusion proved to be. Needless to say, since that day miso has become the buckwheat groats’ best friend. (UPDATE: It’s not really a fusion dish… I have just learnt that buckwheat groats do exist in Japan where they are called “soba gome”; they are however not very popular).<\/p>\n The White miso dressing recipe comes from my beloved\u00a0Japanese Cooking. A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji<\/a> (read more here<\/a>). It keeps about 2 weeks in the fridge and is a good way to use up an egg yolk. If you don’t want to prepare the miso dressing, the buckwheat will be also good with miso alone (if you can add some mirin, it will be even better). This time, instead of pork, I had it with grilled chicken.<\/p>\n Update: Janet’s comment and cooking kasha experience made me think how buckwheat groats\/kasha may be tricky to cook, especially for the first time. After two or three times it’ll become very easy. I changed a bit the cooking process description, more helpful this time – I hope \u00a0– for a beginner.<\/p>\n Preparation: 30 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n Ingredients (serves two):<\/em><\/p>\n 150 g roasted buckwheat groats<\/em><\/p>\n 1\/2 teaspoon salt<\/em><\/p>\n 4 tablespoons white miso <\/em><\/p>\n or White miso dressing:<\/em><\/p>\n 1 egg yolk<\/em><\/p>\n 4 tablespoons white miso<\/em><\/p>\n