“Gavroshka” Buckwheat Casserole

“Gavroshka” is a household name for baked buckwheat with mushrooms, one of those dishes born from the practical question of what to do with yesterday’s kasha. Buckwheat groats — look for the toasted brown kind sold as kasha in Eastern European or health-food shops, not the pale raw grain — are folded with fried mushrooms, melted butter and smetana (full-fat sour cream), and half an hour in the oven turns a side dish into a meal with a browned top.

The insistence on fluffy grain isn’t fussiness. Wet, overcooked buckwheat bakes into one dense lump, while separate firm grains dry just slightly on the surface and stay tender underneath. That is exactly why porridge left in the fridge overnight performs better here than a fresh batch.

Fry the mushrooms in butter before they meet the buckwheat; the nutty note comes from butter browning in the pan, and raw mushrooms will never develop it in the oven. The sour cream is what keeps the grain from drying out — if the mixture looks dry going into the dish, stir in another spoonful. Wild mushrooms give a sharper aroma, cremini a gentler one. Use a dish about 8 inches across so the layer sits a finger deep; spread any thinner and it dries out.

Part of Eastern European cuisine — 65 more recipes in the section.

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