Name: Kasha Varniskas
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4 to 6
Cuisine: Poland
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 1½ cups thinly sliced button mushrooms, shiitakes, or fresh porcini; Salt; 1 cup small bow tie noodles; 1 egg white; 1 cup kasha (buckwheat groats); 2 cups boiling beef or chicken broth or water; Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation info

Serves
4 to 6

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
40 min

Appears in

Healthy Jewish Cooking

By Steven Raichlen

Published 2000

About

Kasha with bow ties is a Russian/Polish Jewish classic. Your great-grandmother would have made the noodles by hand. You can do this if you’re feeling ambitious, but store-bought bow ties work just fine. You can use just about any type of fresh mushroom for the recipe: button mushrooms, shiitakes, porcini (boletus).

Ingredients

1 cup kasha (buckwheat groats)
1 cup small bow tie noodles
Salt

Method

Wash the kasha under cold water, drain well, and blot dry. Cook the bow ties in boiling salted water until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, refresh under cold water, and drain.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan (preferably nonstick). Add the onions and mushrooms and cook over medium heat until the onions are golden brown and the mus