This post is part of Share Our Holiday Table, a seven-day, online progressive dinner series that we hope will encourage you to support and donate to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Campaign during this critical holiday period. I’m honored to be one of more than 50 bloggers who are participating. If you’ve been following along, the dinner has been unfolding for the last week across 7 courses and in 4 tracks (Gourmet, Family-Friendly, Gluten Free and Vegetarian).

Today’s featured course is the Side Dish and I’m offering you one of my favorite Vegetarian dishes, Kasha Varnishkes. My mom used to make this as a side to pot roast and turkey, and I’ve been cooking it through my adult life, frequently as a main course.

You see, kasha is actually roasted buckwheat kernels and is one of the healthiest grain products out there. A complete protein on its own, high in fiber, yada yada yada, kasha can be used as a main dish, side dish, stuffing, and even as a delicious hot breakfast cereal. It’s also gluten-free, so if that’s an issue for you or someone you love, you can also prepare the following recipe without the pasta as a Kasha Pilaf.

This recipe will feed a crowd on your holiday table or buffet, and makes an attractive change – or addition to – the usual potato fare. If you have less than a crowd, you can easily make half the quantity.

Kasha Pilaf Varnishkes
(serves 8-10 as a side dish, 4-6 as a main course)

Ingredients:

1 14 – 16 oz package Farfalle (Bowtie) pasta

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup carrots, split & sliced thin
1/2 cup celery, sliced thin
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced thin
1-1/2 cups medium or coarse Kasha
1 large egg or egg white (optional – see Preparation)
2 Tbs canola oil or butter
3 cups vegetable broth (divided)
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

If not using the egg, skip to the next step. If using the egg or egg white: Beat the egg or egg white until well-blended. Add the kasha and combine with a fork until the grains are coated well.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the kasha and stir while toasting, till the grains are mostly separate and you smell a pleasant, toasty aroma.

Add the vegetables and 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth, stir well, and saute until the vegetables soften slightly, about 3 – 4 minutes. Add the remaining broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan tightly, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 8 minutes, or until the kasha is soft. Uncover, and cook an additional 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow the kasha to dry out a bit.

Check the seasoning, and add the farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, tossing together until thoroughly combined. Serve hot.

Notes:

You can find kasha in your regular grocery store in either the pasta/rice aisle or the ethnic foods, kosher products section. I’ve only ever seen Wolff’s brand, but feel free to use any other you may spot. It comes in Fine, Medium, or Coarse granulations. Only use the medium or coarse granulation for this recipe. The fine granulation is mostly for cereal and will turn out mushy.

A variety of liquids can be used to prepare this, including beef or chicken stock (although using these would render this no longer vegetarian), or even water.

The word “varnishkes” refers to the bow-tie pasta. No, I don’t know what it means.

As noted earlier, if you omit the pasta, this Kasha Pilaf is an excellent gluten-free choice, too.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this special holiday post on behalf of Share Our Strength, and that you’ll visit the other participating blogs to see what they’re serving up for Share Our Holiday Table.

In fact, I hope you’ve enjoyed it enough to click on one of these links and make a donation to Share Our Strength and sign the No Kid Hungry Pledge. Approximately 17 million children right here in the United States go hungry because of lack of access to programs that can change that, and lack of access to healthy foods. A hungry child can’t learn.

Even though my husband and I have no kids, we recognize that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. And can yank our Social Security in a heartbeat.

Will you join us in the No Kid Hungry Campaign?

Today’s side dishes in each track are brought to you by:

Gourmet

• The Urban Baker
• Heather Christo
• We Like to Cook, and Eat
• Plum Pie

Family Friendly

• What’s Cooking
• Dine and Dish
• The Evolving Cook

Vegetarian

• My Kitchen Addiction
• Taste as You Go
• Flamingo Musings (that’s me!)

Gluten Free

• The Whole Gang
• Jenn Cuisine– A mostly gluten free cooking blog.
• Creative Cooking Gluten Free

There’s more to pasta than spaghetti and elbow macaroni, you know, and farfalle – or bow tie pasta – is one of those fun and versatile shapes that everyone loves.

Here’s a way to make a quick, yet satisfying, meal with ingredients straight out of the pantry. This is one of our favorites because it’s another one of those one-pan meals you can throw together in the blink of an eye. It’s also perfect for “Meatless Monday” or any day of the week!

Farfalle Chickpea Toss

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
2 15-1/2 oz. cans garbanzo beans (chickpeas) – drained
1 14-1/2 oz. can organic chopped tomatoes
4 cups organic vegetable stock
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (or to taste)
1 tsp. dried cilantro (or 2 Tbs. fresh, chopped coarsely)
1 box of Farfalle (Bow Tie) pasta – 14 oz or 16 oz

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a large, deep saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onions and garlic, and cook until the onion is translucent – about 5 minutes.

Stir in the drained chickpeas and allow to cook for one minute. Then add the can of chopped tomatoes, together with its liquid, the vegetable stock, and the salt and pepper. If using dried herbs, add them now. If using fresh, hold off.

Bring the pan to a boil and add the pasta, stir well, cover tightly, reduce heat to medium,and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the pan cover and stir well. If using fresh herbs, add them now. Check the pasta to see if it’s done to your taste. There should also be very little liquid left in the pan. If the pasta’s not quite done, or if there is excess liquid in the pan, cook uncovered for an additional 3-5 minutes.

Serve this with a fresh, green salad on the side and dinner’s done!

Note:

Just a quick note (to go with a quick post on a quick meal!) – Play with your herbs! If you have access to fresh, by all means, use them! But even a pinch of dried herbs will add a layer of flavor to just about anything you cook. And change ‘em up from time to time. If you don’t like cilantro – and that seems to be a big deal, these days for some reason – use Italian parsley or basil.

And if you’re concerned about the cost of organic ingredients, check out your local warehouse club (like Costco, BJ’s, Sam’s Club, etc.). My local Costco sells 8 cans of a national brand organic chopped tomatoes for about $6. The organic vegetable stock? My local grocery chain’s store brand. And it tastes better than the national brands!

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And in other news:

The winner of the $50 CSN Stores giveaway, is Julie D., comment number 5! Congratulations, Julie!

Thanks for playing, everyone!