Buckwheat, Bow ties, and Onions

Kasha Varnishkes (Buckwheat, Bow Ties and Onions)
From Joan Nathan in New York Times Cooking

YIELD 4 to 6 servings
TIME 50 minutes (Prep 10 minutes | Cook 40 minutes)

In the 1880s, this simple yet beloved dish of buckwheat (kasha), onion and bow tie noodles (varnishkes) came to New York’s Lower East Side with Eastern European Jewish immigrants. At the time, it was made with homemade egg noodles that were rolled out, cut into squares and painstakingly pinched into bow ties.  Nowadays, store-bought bow tie egg noodles are traditional, but any hardy pasta, like gemelli or fusilli, will also work well. Lola Landa, chef and owner of Kafe Jerusalem in Lviv, Ukraine, suggests using European-style whole buckwheat groats for this dish. (The more broken-up varieties tend to get mushy unless toasted first with beaten egg.) What really makes this dish, however, are the onions.  While Ms. Landa deep-fries thin slices of onion, I prefer to caramelize them in a skillet. To really gild the lily, add mushrooms before tossing everything together.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup European-style whole buckwheat groats (kasha), preferably pre-roasted (see Tip)
Kosher salt and black pepper
3 cups bow tie egg noodles (about 7 ounces) or farfalle
4 medium yellow onions
2 to 3 tablespoons schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) or vegetable oil (see Tip)
4 ounces shiitake, cremini or other fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
¼ cup chopped parsley

PREPARATION

Step 1
Put the buckwheat in a medium saucepan, add 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and 2½ cups water, and bring to a boil.  Cover with a lid, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, until all the water is absorbed. (You can do this a few hours ahead of time.)

Step 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ½ teaspoon of salt and the bow tie noodles, then cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain.

Step 3
While the noodles are cooking, slice the onions into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Warm the schmaltz or oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the onions and sauté for about 20 minutes, or until they are deeply browned. Stir in the mushrooms (if using) and buckwheat groats and cook a few minutes more.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed. 

Step 4
When the noodles are cooked and drained, add to the pan with the onions and buckwheat and toss gently to combine. Season with more black pepper and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve as a main course with a salad or roast chicken.

Tips
Whole buckwheat groats maintain their texture even when boiled. Find them at Eastern European markets or health food stores.  (Many comments to this recipe advised beating an egg and mixing it with the buckwheat groats, then  frying it in a dry pan until kernels are separate to keep the buckwheat from getting mushy when cooking.)

To make a traditional schmaltz for kasha varnishkes, trim off chicken fat and skin from an uncooked chicken. Add it to a saucepan and cover it with a little water and a cut-up onion and simmer slowly for about a half hour, until the fat renders and the gribenes (cracklings) turn golden brown.

Cool slightly and then strain the schmaltz, saving the gribenes and golden onions to stir into the finished kasha varnishkes. (Or when making chicken soup, simply leave the pot in the fridge overnight. The next morning, skim off the solidified schmaltz from the top.)