Here is kasha, simply prepared with butter. It’s good with olive oil, too, but best with rendered chicken fat.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　1 1/2 cups kasha

　　2 to 4 tablespoons (1/4 to 1/2 stick) butter or extra virgin olive oil

　　Salt and black pepper to taste

　　

Step 1

Bring about 1 quart of water (or, if you have it, stock) to a boil. Rinse the kasha in a strainer. Put half the butter in a skillet with a lid and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, add the kasha, along with some salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the mixture smells toasty, about 3 minutes.

　　

Step 2

Carefully add 3 cups of the boiling water, turn the heat to low, then cover and cook for about 15 minutes. If the liquid is absorbed and the kasha is tender but not mushy, it’s done. If liquid remains, cook it a little more; if the mixture is dry and the kasha undercooked, add a little more water.

　　

Step 3

Stir in the remaining butter, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve or keep warm over very low heat for up to 30 minutes.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.