If you want to incorporate more nutritious grain-like foods into your diet, one option that’s sometimes forgotten in North America is buckwheat groats. I say grain-like because, similar to quinoa, buckwheat groats are not a grain, they are seed, the hulled, gluten-free seeds of the buckwheat plant.
But like quinoa, when you cook them buckwheat groats act like a grain, softening in texture as grain products rice or barley would. Groats are as versatile as those grains and if you’re of Eastern European descent you’ll already know that.
Indeed, buckwheat groats, in places such as Ukraine, Poland, Baltic countries and other locales, are used in a range of dishes. They include such things as dumplings, perogies, pasta dishes, side dishes, salads, sausages, stuffings, soups and in the filling for cabbage rolls, which I prepared in today’s recipe.
In some regions buckwheat groats, when toasted, are referred to as kasha. Kasha is also a name given to type of porridge that’s made with buckwheat groats that is sweetened, accented with milk and topped as you might a bowl of oatmeal.
To cook buckwheat groats, a rich source of protein, iron, fibre and vitamins, a common method is to simply simmer them in water until tender. In that form, they are ready to use in some of the dishes noted above as well as others. For example, you could use cooked, cooled buckwheat grouts in place of bulgur when making tabbouleh.
According to a few sources, one cup of buckwheat groats when cooked in two cups of simmering water will yield about two and half cups.
You’ll find buckwheat groats for sale at some grocery/ethnic stores and at bulk food stores. I bought a bag of them at Fig Deli, 1551 Cedar Hill Cross Rd.
As noted, I used buckwheat groats in the filling for cabbage rolls, combining them with such things as mushrooms, carrots, walnuts, onion and dill. I then rolled that filling into blanched, savoy cabbage leaves. The cabbage rolls were then set in a casserole, topped with a tomatoey mixture, covered and baked until tender and flavourful.
It takes a bit of time and few different steps to make cabbage rolls. But you could divide the work over two days, such as making and refrigerating the filling for the cabbage rolls the day before rolling and baking them.
Today’s recipe yields 12 cabbage rolls, some of which you can enjoy now, others that you could cool, freeze, thaw and reheat when you feel like having cabbage rolls again.
Savoy Cabbage Rolls with Buckwheat, Mushrooms and Walnuts
Blanched savoy cabbage leaves, filled with a flavourful buckwheat groat mixture, rolled, and baked in a tangy tomato sauce.
Preparation time: 75 minutes
Cooking time: About 110 minutes
Makes: 12 medium to large cabbage rolls
For buckwheat groats
2 1/4 cups water
• salt to taste
1 cup buckwheat groats
Place the water and salt in a medium, not overly wide pot (my pot was six-inches wide). Set pot over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer. Mix in the buckwheat groats, return to simmer, and then lower the heat to maintain that simmer. Simmer the buckwheat groats until they have absorbed the water and are tender, but still a little chewy to the bite, about 15 minutes. Spoon the buckwheat groats into a large mixing bowl and use as directed in the next step.
For the filling
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 lb. small to medium brown mushrooms, each halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated carrot
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted, cooled and then coarsely chopped (see Note 1)
1 Tbsp horseradish
1 large egg, beaten
3 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Place oil in a large skillet set over medium, medium-high heat. When hot, add onions, mushrooms, carrot and garlic. Cook and stir until the mushrooms are very tender and the moisture seeping out of them has evaporated, about six minutes. Remove skillet from the heat and cool mixture to room temperature.
When cooled, add the mushroom mixture to the buckwheat groats, along with the walnuts, horseradish, egg, dill, salt and pepper, and mix well to combine. Use this filling as directed below.
For the sauce
1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable broth or stock
1 (28 oz./796 mL) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz./398 mL) can diced tomatoes
2 Tbsp brown sugar
• salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Combine ingredients in a bowl and set this sauce aside until needed below.
For the rolls and to finish
1 large (about 1.5 kilogram, 7- to 8-inch wide) savoy cabbage, any tough outer leaves removed and discarded (see Eric’s options)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
• sour cream, to taste (optional)
Bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Deeply cut out the centre core of the cabbage. Now carefully pull off 12 cabbage leaves (each will be about 5- to 7-inches wide and 4- to 6-inches tall; save the remaining cabbage for another use; see Eric’s options).
Add cabbage leaves to the boiling water and cook until just tender, about five minutes. Drain the cabbage well, and then fill the pot with ice-cold water. When cabbage leaves are cold, lift out the water, drain well, and then dry each leaf on a kitchen towel.
Trim off the tough, outside, lower part of the vein running through the centre of each leaf and discard. Preheat the oven 350 F.
Set the cabbage leaves, curved side down, on a work surface. Spoon an equal amount (about 1/2 cup) of the buckwheat mixture into the centre of each leaf. Tightly fold the sides of each cabbage leaf over the filling. Now tightly roll up each leaf to create a cabbage roll.
Spoon and spread some of the sauce in a large casserole or baking pan (mine was 12-inches wide and 16-inches long). Set in the cabbage rolls, seam side down. Top the cabbage rolls with the remaining sauce. Cover and bake the cabbage rolls 75 minutes, or until bubbling and tender.
Rest cabbage rolls a few minutes, and then sprinkle the 1 Tbsp chopped dill. Once plated, if desired, serve the cabbage rolls with a dollop of sour cream.
Note: To toast walnuts, place them in a non-stick skillet and set over medium heat. Heat, swirling the pan from time to time, until lightly toasted, about three to four minutes. Cool walnuts to room temperature and they are then ready to chop and use in the recipe.
Eric’s options: If the your savoy cabbage has leaves that can not be easily pulled off the head of the cabbage, run hot water into space at the core of the cabbage to help separate the leaves. Or plunge and submerge the whole cabbage into simmering water and pull off the leaves you need when they start to loosen from the head of the cabbage.
These cabbage rolls freeze well. After cooking, eat what you can and then cool and divide the rest among suitably sized containers, wrap, date and freeze. You can reheat them in the microwave after thawing.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
