My grandmother made a dish similar to this which she called Chicken and Kasha. It’s a simple hearty winter stew, and buckwheat is a delicious and incredibly healthful food. Don’t let its name fool you – buckwheat is a seed, not a grain, which is why the flour doesn’t act like regular wheat flour in cooking.
Milled buckwheat yields a powder that is far more absorbent than wheat flour, almost like a nut meal. Buckwheat is gluten free, and according to this study, it has four times more iron than rice flour, three times more calcium, over nine times more magnesium, and nearly six times more potassium.
Buckwheat is also a very good source of manganese and dietary fiber, and the protein in buckwheat is a high quality protein, containing all eight essential amino acids.
If you’re snowed in and looking for the perfect winter dinner that’s almost effortless to prepare, this is it.
(15 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)Loading...Ingredients
- 1 chicken (4 pounds), divided
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 cups buckwheat groats (roasted)
- 1 cup dry white wine (optional)
- 8-9 cups water
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot (I prefer a wide pot to a deep one) sauté the onions and celery in the olive oil until the onions start to soften (3-4 minutes).
- Place the pieces of chicken in the pot, lower the flame, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add the buckwheat and mix. Add water, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and let cook for about 45 minutes until the liquid is absorbed and the buckwheat is soft. Add the wine when most of the water has been absorbed.
I substituted an enormous squash for the celery and butter for half the oil. It’s looking delicious. (I used less water because the squash provided some)