Cooking with unusual grains.

Freesia

not my business.
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I want to know if anyone cooks with unusual grains. Well not so unusual. Things like kasha (buckwheat), quinoa, amaranth, millet, bulghur wheat, even things a little more usual like couscous or perhaps Israeli Couscous, barley, etc.

I would be interested to hear what others make. Myself, i only cook with quinoa on average but I am always looking for new things to do with it. I have made before: various flavoured quinoas throwing a leftover italian or indian curry sauce in it, or a chinese stirfry with sauce...

I sometimes make a smoky eggplant quinoa, also tabbouleh is good using quinoa as the base grain (and good for those who are gluten free and want some tabbouleh to go with their hummus, falafels etc... I have made quinoa puttanesca before which is also good.

Bulghur, have only had it in Turkish Bride soup.
 
I have many recipes using grains and they are part of my normal diet. I don't regard them as unusual even
though most people don't know what they are.
I always have millet, quinoa (red and standard) couscous (kamut, spelt and wholemeal) spelt, bulghour as basics.
I'm not a fan of Israeli couscous as it is just pasta and I prefer spelt pasta to the former.
I use grains for making salads, stuffings, risotto, stews and soups. I even grind them and add them to burgers and for bread making.
I'm planning to make a vegetable and chickpea couscous (spelt) stew this week end. As it is very cold overhere, a couscous stew always makes a nice comfort food dinner to look forward to !:lick:
 
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We (okay, Jen) cooks with millet sometimes. We've discovered it's quite a baby-friendly grain as it sticks together and is easy to pick up for little fingers. I love the taste and texture. (Though I often sprinkle a little soya sauce on top when I eat it to make it a bit more interesting.)

Couscous is a staple in our house, and extremely easy to cook. (Just add hot water and let it sit for a few minutes. Though it tastes better if you add some spices etc.)
 
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We (okay, Jen) cooks with millet sometimes. We've discovered it's quite a baby-friendly grain as it sticks together and is easy to pick up for little fingers. I love the taste and texture. (Though I often sprinkle a little soya sauce on top when I eat it to make it a bit more interesting.)

My friend has been doing the same thing with her son. She also has been giving him kasha with fruit for breakfast.

I'm very interested in trying Farro and all the other grains mentioned here. I can't seem to find farro anywhere though. I have read that it's the chewiest of most of the grains and that's exactly what I'm looking for. A new grain with a super chewy texture. I don't like mushy grains.
 
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My friend has been doing the same thing with her son. She also has been giving him kasha with fruit for breakfast.

I'm very interested in trying Farro and all the other grains mentioned here. I can't seem to find farro anywhere though. I have read that it's the chewiest of most of the grains and that's exactly what I'm looking for. A new grain with a super chewy texture. I don't like mushy grains.

I have never seen Farro grains overhere neither and I usually use spelt grains which are chewy.
As Farro is mainly grown in Italy and is an ancien Romain grain, have you thought of going to Italian shops in your
are which may stock it ?
 
I have some bulgur, but I've only ever used it in chili. I would like to cook more with different grains. I really like red quinoa and Israeli couscous, but have never made either of them at home.
 
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Nice suggestions so far. Thanks. Shyvas it sounds like you have an interesting and varied menu. : )

i havent encountered Farro either, I would also be interested.

Couscous: I really need to eat more of it. I lived with someone with coeliac and I ended up sort of giving up couscous around that time and I never really started using it again out of habit. It is a nice handy grain, I really need to buy some and experiment.

I have seen a few recipes for millet and buckwheat here and there, I guess it is just a matter of trying them.
 
I just had steamed kasha for lunch today with some roasted brussels sprouts, butternut squash, beets and apple. I try to keep a diverse range of grains and beans and pastas on hand for variety's sake and to accommodate allergies of whomever I might be serving.
 
I have never seen Farro grains overhere neither and I usually use spelt grains which are chewy.
As Farro is mainly grown in Italy and is an ancien Romain grain, have you thought of going to Italian shops in your
are which may stock it ?

I'll have to try some spelt grains then. Thanks for the advice. I have a lot of Italian shops around me. I rarely step foot in them though since most of them have meat and cheese hanging from the ceilings (they are also delis).

How is the texture of Kasha? Is that chewy also?
 
There is a great deli/gourmet food store here. Thank goodness the meat section is sort of cornered off.... Coincidentally it is actually called Farro. It has all sorts of things, but it is kind of expensive. I like to go there anyway.
 
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I always found Kasha to have a sort of funny taste. I imagine it would have to be cooked in vegetable stock. I dont know much about it, I kind of recall it is used in Russian food. And I have seen Jewish recipes that use it.
 
I always found Kasha to have a sort of funny taste. I imagine it would have to be cooked in vegetable stock. I dont know much about it, I kind of recall it is used in Russian food. And I have seen Jewish recipes that use it.

Freesia, it is buckwheat, hence the nutty taste. I like buckwheat flour but find that the grains are a bit mushy.
 
I havent ever done anything with the flour like baking buckwheat pancakes, which I have heard were good. But I do buy buckwheat pasta sometimes. It has a sort of buckwheaty taste but I found it to be ok. I do want to learn how to cook with the actual groats though, it seems as if they would be very nutritious, and it would be also good to expand my grain repertoire.
 
I used to make kasha with the "hat" pasta (?) They're disk shaped, and inverted like beanie hats...
Cabbage, lots of curry spices, raisins.

Orecchiette and linguine are my favourite pasta shapes.
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I havent ever done anything with the flour like baking buckwheat pancakes, which I have heard were good. But I do buy buckwheat pasta sometimes. It has a sort of buckwheaty taste but I found it to be ok. I do want to learn how to cook with the actual groats though, it seems as if they would be very nutritious, and it would be also good to expand my grain repertoire.

I only ever make pancakes using buckwheat flour. I love, love soba noodles but they are very expensive
overhere so they are a real treat !

What kind of kasha recipes are you looking for ?
 
I only ever make pancakes using buckwheat flour. I love, love soba noodles but they are very expensive
overhere so they are a real treat !

What kind of kasha recipes are you looking for ?

I would suggest making a mushroom ( fresh and dried) and onion risotto.
The following link may be of help :

http://www.vegancoach.com/kasha-recipe.html
 
I only ever make pancakes using buckwheat flour. I love, love soba noodles but they are very expensive
overhere so they are a real treat !

What kind of kasha recipes are you looking for ?

I have been meaning to try soba noodles for a long time, I have seen them in shops, but I always buy rice noodles so invariably if I am cooking some kind of Asian noodle soup, I end up using them. One day...

The buckwheat pasta are part of a gluten free range and I tried them years ago in an attempt to be healthy. http://www.orgran.com/products/135/

I am not sure what kind of kasha recipes. The one in veganomicon is a sort of kasha and mushroom casserole. I have heard that kasha is in knishes but tbh I dont know what a knish is.

The mushroom and onion risotto sounds like a good idea.