FO R A N E W G EN ER ATI O N
FO R A N E W G EN ER ATI O N
Light Dishes, Hearty Meals, Sweet Treats, and Sundry Snacks for the Everyday Cook
By Liana Krissoff Photographs by Rinne Allen
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What’s a Grain, Anyway, and What Makes One Whole?
Fitting Whole Grains into Your Everyday Meals
A grain is, quite simply, the whole seed of a plant. True grains are those that come from plants in the grass family, Poaceae. They’re also known as cereals: Wheat, corn, rice, oats, rye, barley, millet, sorghum, teff, triticale, and wild rice are all cereal crops, true grains. Seeds that do not come from a grass but that have culinary uses and nutritional profiles that are similar to those of true grains are called pseudograins, and they usually come from broadleaf plant varieties; these include buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth. Each grain or pseudograin, each seed, consists of three main parts, all of which are found inside an inedible layer called the hull. You may remember cross-section diagrams of grains from such classes as middle-school science. In all the illustrations, at the bottom of the seed near the stem and looking, very appropriately, like an egg yolk, is the germ: the tiny part of the interior of the grain that when fertilized will sprout (hence the term germinate) and grow into a new plant. The endosperm, which makes up the bulk of the interior and is the source of energy for the germ, surrounds it. The bran is the outer protective layer. Each part of the grain has different nutritional character-
You can see that for most people and most modern diets, the most useful parts of the grain would be the germ and bran. They’re incredibly nutritious, and yet most of the grains produced for consumption today are ultra-processed to remove them. While it’s my feeling that there are many applications for which only white flour or white rice will do—a perfect pizza crust, a holey loaf of ciabatta, a fine white layer cake, a traditional risotto—I think that for most of us those foods should, ideally, be considered special treats, and if it’s possible to replace refined grains with whole grains without any reduction in deliciousness we should do so. Luckily, whole grains offer a variety of fun, crazy textures to play with and a ton of flavor in each bite, so there’s certainly no need to worry about giving up an ounce of cooking or eating pleasure. In fact, I find that whole grains are so much more satisfying than refined grains that when they’re part of my meal I’m less likely to overeat. The dishes in this book cover a lot of ground—there are whole grains for every meal, after all. But I don’t want to suggest that eating whole grains (or any grains) three times a day is a viable diet for me or for anyone. Whole grains, as tasty and as good for you as they are, shouldn’t replace nutrient-dense fresh vegetables, and on their own they won’t provide as much protein as most people need. Basically, when I crave grains, whether it’s a hunk of bread or a bowl of cereal or something to go with kung pao chicken or a pie, I try to make the grains whole. When I buy cornmeal, I make sure it says it’s made from whole corn or hominy. When I buy dried pasta, unless it’s a special occasion, I pick one made with at least some whole wheat. If I happen to be desperate for a store-bought cold cereal (I was addicted to mixed Nutty Nuggets and Toasted Oats for a while), I know that one of the many varieties of unsweetened puffed whole grains is a good option. That said, it’s my hope that this book will help you go far beyond simple substitutions like this to discover new ways of cooking and enjoying the enormous variety of interesting and unusual grains that are readily available today. You’ll probably notice that most of the dishes—the salads, the sides, and the main courses especially—are loaded with fresh produce. Good meats and fish are used moderately and, I think, wisely here and in the foods my family and I cook. When they appear in these recipes, meats and fish take center stage: I believe that when you
istics and content:
• Germ vitamins B and E, essential amino acids, oils • Endosperm mostly starch (carbohydrate) • Bran fiber, B vitamins When a grain is processed, first the hull or outer husk is removed. At this point it’s a fully edible whole grain. If processing continues and the germ and the bran are removed, the grain is no longer whole—only the starchy, carbohydrate-rich endosperm is left, and that’s what we’re eating when we eat refined grains. There are some good reasons for doing this: Refined grains, like white flour, degerminated cornmeal, and white rice, keep longer in storage than whole grains because they lack the oils that can turn rancid on the shelf over time. Refined grains also tend to taste lighter and more delicate than those made with whole grains. And at least in the case of white rice and fine degerminated cornmeal, refined grains cook more quickly than whole grains.
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Additional toppings and stir-ins
Crunchy or crisp:
Fruity:
Creamy:
Spicy:
Sweet:
Mix and match away! Most mornings I like to choose a variety of toppings with different textures and complementary flavors, but sometimes it’s comfort that I want (or want for my daughter)—in that case, I’ll keep things traditional and stir in a few bits of soft juicy peach and a drizzle of honey, leaving the crunchy nuts and seeds for another day.
• Toasted pepitas, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds • Sliced or slivered almonds • Walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews • Toasted pine nuts • Popped amaranth or toasted wheat berries (pages 000 and 000) • Poppy seeds • Fried thinly sliced garlic or shallots • Sliced scallions, tender cilantro stems • Toasted coconut shavings • Packaged Indian snacks such as sev (fried chickpea-flour vermicelli), crushed puri (wheat-flour wafers), boondi (chickpea- or lentil-flour balls) • Granola (page 000) • Gingersnap crumbs • Cacao nibs
• Chopped or mashed banana • Diced, grated, or butter-sautéed apple • Fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, grapes, chopped pineapple • Pomegranate seeds or pomegranate molasses • Orange or grapefruit segments • Dried cranberries, cherries, apricots, apple, papaya, guava, pineapple, currants, raisins, figs, chopped dates • Apple or pear butter, applesauce • Pumpkin butter • Diced fresh tomatoes • Tamarind-date chutney (page 000)
• Milk, half-and-half, buttermilk • Fresh sweet or cultured cream, crème fraîche (page 000), mascarpone, bits of cream cheese or Brie, clotted cream • Shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese, crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese • Plain yogurt • Almond milk (page 000), soy milk, rice milk • Coconut milk • Butter • Fried or poached egg, or stir an egg into the oats as they’re cooking • Sliced or mashed avocado • Almond butter, cashew butter, natural peanut butter • Leftover canned pumpkin (freeze in little mounds on a sheet of waxed paper, then toss in a freezer bag and add straight to cereal as it cooks) • Diced sweet potato (add at the beginning of cooking)
• Cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, ginger • Chai masala • Hot or sweet paprika, smoked paprika, chile powder • Curry powder, garam masala, chaat masala (page 000) • Granulated garlic, dried onion flakes • Fresh jalapeño or serrano chiles • Snipped dried chiles, chipotle chile flakes • Chile paste (sambal oelek) or hot sauce (such as Sriracha, or a habanero-based sauce) • Mint and cilantro chutney
• Honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, cane syrup, sorghum syrup, brown rice syrup, golden syrup, malted barley syrup • Demerara, turbinado, or other coarse raw sugar • Brown sugar • Vanilla sugar or a few drops of pure vanilla extract • Jam or preserves • Marmalade • Sorghum-plum compote (page 000) • Apple cider • Dark chocolate chips
Other enrichments, healthful and not so much:
• • • • •
Crushed or ground flax seeds Chia seeds, hemp seeds Toasted wheat germ Wheat bran Crumbled bacon, crisped braised pork belly, pan-fried country ham • Whiskey, Scotch • Amaretto
From top left: Caption, caption, caption, caption, caption, caption
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Popped Amaranth and Toasted Wheat Berry Fool Serves 3 or 4 | vegetarian
Heat a small, heavy stainless-steel sauté pan over high heat. Add the wheat berries and cook, shaking the pan frequently, until they crackle and swell up and are just starting to color, about 2 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
Here, tiny puffs of amaranth and crunchy, nutty toasted wheat berries are suspended in lightly sweetened, tangy whipped cream and yogurt, along with whatever fresh fruit you have on hand. Serve it as a special breakfast treat, or add a little more sugar and call it dessert.
To the same pan over high heat, add half of the amaranth, cover immediately, and cook until the grains are all popped, no longer than 30 seconds. Immediately dump them in the bowl with the wheat berries and repeat with the remaining amaranth. Toss to combine the grains, then divide them among serving bowls.
• 1/4 cup (45 g) raw wheat berries • 1/4 cup (50 g) raw amaranth • 1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream • Sugar or vanilla sugar to taste (about 1 1/2 teaspoons) • 1 cup (240 ml) plain yogurt • 1 1/2 cups (340 g) fresh berries, diced strawberries, pitted cherries, or diced cantaloupe or honeydew melon
Whip the cream with about 3/4 teaspoon sugar until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt together with about 3/4 teaspoon sugar until smooth. Gently fold the cream into the yogurt, then dollop the mixture onto the grains and cover the top with fruit. Serve, or gently fold the grains, cream, and fruit together before serving.
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Red Quinoa and Carrot Salad with Yellow Pepper, Grapefruit, and Crisped Dulse Serves 4 | Vegan, gluten free
My friend Regan pointed me toward a quinoa salad with sunflower seeds and seaweed in Peter Berley’s tome-ish Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, and it inspired this one. I use mild, crowd-pleasing dulse seaweed here, quickly crisped in a little oil—and it’s a good choice if you’re just beginning to use sea vegetables in your cooking, but you could substitute soaked and drained hijiki, arame, or a combination of several different seaweeds. Or instead, toast a square of nori over a gas or electric burner and crumble it over the salad.
Put the onion and sweet peppers in a small bowl and cover with ice water; set aside.
• 1/ 2 sweet onion, diced • 1 sweet yellow bell pepper, diced • Ice water • 1/ 2 cup (70 g) sunflower seeds • 1/4 cup (55 ml) olive oil • 1/ 2 cup (8 g) dulse seaweed (see Note), picked over and unfolded • 1 grapefruit • Juice of 1/ 2 lemon, or more if needed • 1 to 2 serrano chiles, minced • 1 carrot, peeled • Salt • 3 cups (550 g) cooked red quinoa (page 000), cooled
With a sharp knife, cut the rind and white membrane off the grapefruit. Working over a large bowl, cut the segments from the inner membrane and let them fall into the bowl; squeeze juice from the empty membranes into the bowl. Add the lemon juice and chiles, then grate the carrot into the bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt and the oil from cooking the dulse.
In a small sauté pan over medium heat, toast the sunflower seeds, tossing frequently, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the dulse and cook, pressing it down and turning with tongs or a spatula, until crisp and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel; set aside, reserving the oil in the pan.
Dump the quinoa into the bowl with the grapefruit. Drain and add the onion and sweet peppers. Crumble in half of the crisped dulse. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if necessary. Serve, sprinkled with the remaining dulse, or chill in the refrigerator for up to 1 day (keep the dulse at room temperature and add at the last moment) and serve cold.
Note: Dulse (rhymes with “pulse”) is a beautiful red-
purple algae that grows on wave-splashed rocks and on larger seaweeds in cold northern reaches of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It’s dried and sold as whole leaves or ground into flakes or powder—use the larger leaves or flakes here rather than the finely ground. Dulse is a good source of iodine, which is important for those of us who prefer kosher salt to iodized. You can also use dulse for the rice balls on page 000.
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