• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

By Root 769 0

for breakfast is a great start to the day. Or think of the satisfying chew of an old-fashioned oatmeal raisin cookie and the nourishing sturdiness of Anzac cookies, once added to care packages for soldiers from Australia and New Zealand. Even classic shortbread, which goes back to the twelfth century, traditionally had oats in its veins. It used to be made from leftover oat bread, sprinkled with sugar and left to harden in the residual heat of the oven. Some bakers have started to add them back into shortbread dough to fashion its characteristic sweet crumble—an afternoon bite I long for.

Chapter 2

SALADS & SIDES

With their versatility and no-fuss preparation, many whole grains are perfect for meals on hectic weekdays. When paired with meat or fish, their delicate, subtle flavors spruce up your dinner menu; or enjoy them on their own in a delicious salad for an appealing one-bowl meal, especially in the summer months.

Like any Greek worth her grain, I’m partial to speedy bulgur, the parboiled cracked wheat used widely across the Mediterranean. Italian polenta, also used in parts of Greece, is another favorite. Quick-cooking millet is my go-to comfort food. And infinitely adaptable whole wheat couscous makes for the fastest side of all.

Then there are truly chewy whole grain berries, satisfying and nourishing at once. I prefer to call them berries instead of kernels, which sounds like work instead of fun. Whole oats with their mild pecan-like flavor (who ever named them groats?) pair well with sweet-tasting vegetables like carrots and beets, as well as with nuts and fruits. Rye berries with their slight sour tang provide a clever foil for assertive vegetables and character cheeses such as Greek haloumi or Swiss Emmental. Wheat berries marry with just about any flavor.

Get to know them all, the fast and the slow grains, from a Middle East–inspired cumin-scented quinoa, to bulgur with butter-roasted almonds, to Parmesan polenta made aromatic with a drizzle of rosemary oil. Or try a lush leek salad with grilled haloumi cheese and rye berries, or a juicy Kamut salad with carrots and pomegranate. Yes, whole grain berries take a little extra time to cook, so prepare them ahead, as I often do, or get them going the moment you come home after work. By the time you prep everything else, your grain berries will be ready. It’s easy, you’ll see.

EVERYONE NEEDS A MASALA DABBA

Warm Pasta Salad with Spinach and Fresh Mint

Barley Salad with Figs and Tarragon-Lemon Dressing

Kamut Salad with Carrots and Pomegranate

Bulgur with Butter-Roasted Almonds and Cinnamon

Parmesan Polenta with Rosemary Oil Drizzle

Lemon Quinoa with Currants, Dill, and Zucchini

Saffron Couscous

Leek Salad with Grilled Haloumi Cheese and Rye Berries

Summer Tabouli with Farro

Cumin-Scented Quinoa with Red Beets

Warm Oat Berries with Walnuts and Gorgonzola

Tomato-Infused Bulgur Pilaf with Fresh Basil

Spicy Millet with Yogurt and Fresh Herbs

Spring Pilaf with Artichokes and Green Peas

Orange and Lemon Couscous

Speedy Chickpea Couscous with Pesto

Greek-Style Cornbread with Feta and Thyme

Barley with Crisped Prosciutto and Truffle Oil

Rustic Fall Polenta with Fontina and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

CORN: COMFORTING AND UPLIFTING

Everyone Needs a Masala Dabba

Visit any Indian home where a passionate cook resides and inevitably, sooner rather than later, a much-cherished tool will appear on the kitchen counter, right next to the stove. It is so low-tech and simple, I’m surprised it hasn’t made its way into the Western kitchen: a round stainless steel container with a tight-fitting lid. It is the invaluable masala dabba or spice box, an ingenious invention for organizing the myriad spices that typically flavor an Indian meal. Inside, there are seven small containers, nestled perfectly around an eighth in the center-filled with olfactory heaven. Always shiny, kept perfectly polished by their owners (not covered with fingerprints like mine), a masala dabba is ideal for the countless spices that make Indian dishes so addictively aromatic.

Open the