Mark my words. In the next two to four years, every yoga-taking, chia-smoothie-slurping, ashwagandha-sprinkling Healthyish reader will be all about buckwheat groats. Sure, buckwheat flour is a thing you find in soba noodles as well as certain types of crêpes, and it’s popular among the gluten-free crowd. But I’m talking about buckwheat groats on their own, un-ground, not as a garnish, but as the main event.
Buckwheat groats are a staple in Russian cuisine called grechka—we Russians love our porridge and all the variations of it. Take a grain (though buckwheat is actually a plant related to rhubarb and sorrel), make it mushy, and we’ll eat it up. Well, I say “we” even though this particular Russian always hated the stuff. My family’s folk-remedy claims of enormous health benefits fell on deaf ears.
Eventually, I grew up and began making my own decisions about what to eat. Never again would I be subjected to the weird, brown buckwheat pellets that were neither chewy nor crunchy, not exactly mushy but far from solid. My family continued to gobble it up and kept telling me I’d grow to love it. I refused to come near.
Then, last winter, I arrived very late at night to visit my mom in Spain, jetlagged, miserable, and starving. The only thing she had was buckwheat. I was torn for my distaste for the stuff and my gastronomic misery. Before I could resist, my mom spooned some into a bowl, salted it generously, and added a few drops of truffle oil. It was the most bougie thing ever, and I ate the whole thing.
Since then, I’ve completely fallen in love with the stuff. For mostly financial reasons, I don’t always douse it in truffle oil, but I’ve come to realize how versatile grechka can be. It’s amazing with mushrooms, surprisingly delicious with pesto, and just fine on its own with some good quality salt and olive oil. You can also toast it in a pan for a few minutes before cooking to add a little crunch. My dad likes it with milk and sugar for breakfast, more on the porridge-y spectrum. I like to undercook it a little so it stays chewy and garnish it with some bacon and dill. And, reader, those health claims were true! Buckwheat is packed with good-for-you nutrients and antioxidants with hardly any fat or sugar.
Every Russian grandmother has her own way of cooking grechka. You can pour the groats and water (or broth, or milk, or literally any liquid) into a pot at a 1:2 ratio, bring to a boil, then let simmer until the water is gone (or taste it and strain when it’s at the consistency that you like). The more water the groats absorb, the softer they’ll be. Use the cooked groats in salads and soups, or mix them with other grains for a breakfast porridge. You can get whole buckwheat at any Russian or Eastern European market—even Amazon sells the legit Russian brand. Bob’s Red Mill makes buckwheat groats, too—it’s available online and at some grocery stores.
Though I have yet to come around to some of the other Russian staples I grew up with, my newfound love for buckwheat has rekindled my faith in that most eternal of wisdoms: Mom is always right. And what is this “wellness” thing if not a return to ancient knowledge, a rediscovery of truths our bodies have always known? So when you tire of farro risotto, millet polenta, and oatmeal, grechka will be there for you like it was there for me that dark Spanish night.