Side dishes
Read about Russian food products which can be great and healthy side dishes — gluten-free buckwheat and zucchini paste.
Buckwheat
Gluten-free whole grain buckwheat is an amazing super healthy product. There are only several similar groats that can serve as a tasty garnish and are good for you – and buckwheat is one of them. For instance, if you are aware of your diet you will have to control your consumption of white rice, couscous – not to mention fries – but buckwheat will give you a perfect side dish full of vitamins and nutrients
There are some of the buckwheat health benefits:
- it’s gluten free
- it helps maintain blood flow and thus is good for cardiovascular system
- it is linked to lowering risk of developing high cholesterol and high blood pressure
- it has antioxidant properties
- it is low in calories (1 cup of cooked groats contains 155 calories – fat not added in cooking)
This is a diagram of nutrients in Buckwheat as given on the site www.whfoods.com The world’s healthiest foods
You can read more on the site The world’s healthiest food by following the link: Buckwheat.
HOW TO COOK
The healthy properties of Buckwheat are very well known in Russia and several meals feature this product.
Kasha is the most straightforward recipe and you can have it for breakfast, or use as a side dish.
You will need:
1/2 cups Buckwheat
1 cup water
Butter to taste
Salt
Method:
Rinse buckwheat thoroughly under running water and remove any debris or any black seeds
Add water and salt, and bring to boil leaving the lid slightly open
When the water starts boiling, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes
Switch off the heat, add and mix in some butter, cover with the lid and leave for 10 minutes
* In Russian this is called “grechka”, but in English it is also known as “kasha”.
* For bigger portions use the proportion: 1 part of buckwheat to 2 parts of water (i.e. for one cup of buckwheat use 2 cups of water etc.)
* Serving idea#1: With some zucchini caviar it is simply amazing!
* Serving idea#2: Once kasha cools down you can mix it with milk to get a healthy buckwheat snack.
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Zucchini caviar
Vegetable squash pastes are very popular in Russia, their high-scale production in the USSR started in 1930s and nowadays jars of various vegetable “caviars” can be found in every Russian shop.
Zucchini caviar is perhaps the most popular one.
It is a blended mixture of baked or boiled zucchinis, tomatoes, carrots and onions.
Russian zucchini caviar is a low-calorie product (around 78 calories per 100 gram) and is full of goodness – vitamins B and C, carotene and dietary minerals.
This healthy product is also very tasty and can be eaten as a bread spread or served as a side dish.
Another similar product is aubergine caviar
