Cooking Whole Grains

Whole grains can be used as an alternative to rice or pasta in salads, stuffings, and casseroles; added to soups; or prepared pilaf-style as a side dish. Rinse and drain grains before cooking. The grains will roughly triple in volume once cooked. The recipes can be scaled up by increasing the amounts of oil, grain, water, and salt proportionally. Cooking times will remain the same.

Pilaf-Style: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Stir in grain and toast until lightly golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in water and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to simmer, reduce heat to low, cover, and continue to simmer until grains are tender and have absorbed all water, following cooking times below. Remove from heat, let sit for 10 minutes, and fluff with fork before serving.

Boiled: Bring water to boil in large saucepan over high heat. Stir in grain and ½ teaspoon salt. Return to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, following cooking times below. Drain.

COOKING TECHNIQUE	GRAIN (1 cup)	FLAVOR	WATER (cups)	COOKING TIME (min.)
Pilaf-Style	Bulgur (cracked wheat)*	Wheaty	1	16-18
	Millet †	Corny	2 1/4	25-30
	Quinoa	Mild, Nutty	1	16-18
Boiled	Buckwheat groats (kasha)	Assertive, nutty	4	5
	Bulgur (cracked wheat)	Wheaty	4	5
	Farro	Mild, earthy	4	15-20
	Pearl barley	Mild, nutty	4	20-25
	Rye berries	Robust, nutty	4	45-50
	Spelt	Rich, sweet, nutty	4	45-50
	Wheat berries	Subtly earthy, nutty	4	60

* Do not rinse, and skip toasting step, adding grains to pot with liquid.

† Toast until grains begin to pop, about 10 minutes.