ONLY RECENTLY, the USDA finally put its official stamp of health on grains, making them the nutritional foundation of the recommended diet—the wide base of the Food Guide Pyramid, in fact, calling for six to eleven servings of grain, cereals, and breads a day. Although this new Food Guide Pyramid was announced with great fanfare and precipitated a flurry of news stories, there is really nothing new about this diet.
Throughout history, most cultures around the world have relied on grains for the basis of their diet. Whether wheat, corn, rice, rye, oats, millet, buckwheat, or quinoa, grains have fed people and kept them healthy for thousands of years.
For twenty years at Moosewood Restaurant, we have looked to the world’s ethnic cuisines for inspiration for our own diet. The grain we have most often relied upon is brown rice. But the 45-to-50 minute cooking time for brown rice is a definite drawback when a meal must be on the table quickly.
One obvious solution is to create deliberate leftovers. In the same amount of time, a well-organized cook can steam double or triple the amount of rice needed for one meal and set it aside to be used later. Cooked brown rice can be refrigerated for about a week and frozen for a couple of months. It can be easily and quickly resteamed or microwaved to accompany a stir-fry, stew, fish, or bean entrée. Or it can be incorporated into pilafs, soups, and casseroles, giving the family cook a head start on the week’s meals.
When you are strapped for time and no leftovers await you, or if you simply want some variety, thumb through this chapter for an interesting selection of grains. Bulghur, or cooked cracked wheat, is tasty and tempting in pilafs and burgers. Aromatic basmati rice, either brown or white, is another option. Couscous and orzo, actually grain-like pastas made from durum semolina wheat, are now reaching gourmet status. Quinoa, the extra-nutritious grain from the mountains of Peru, has a nutty whole-grain flavor and fluffy texture. Kasha, made from buckwheat groats, has a distinctive earthy taste that mixes especially well with savory vegetables. Arborio rice, with its creamy yet firm texture, combines with vegetables and cheese in risottos for a quick and uniquely toothsome entrée. Grits, made from hominy, are the most appropriate sidekick for certain Southern dishes and couldn’t be easier to make. Polenta, a thick golden cornmeal porridge, is extremely adaptable and one of our favorites.
Taking from 5 to 20 minutes to cook, each of these grains is an economical, nutritious, versatile, and readily available staple. With these tasty and satisfying resources in your pantry, you can easily enrich your diet, even at a moment’s notice, whenever inspiration strikes or hunger beckons, and you’ll enjoy an amazing range of textures and tantalizing flavors.
Whole grains, such as arborio or brown rice and quinoa, should be stored in a dry, cool, insect-free space. Cracked and ground grains, such as bulghur and cornmeal, may show their age sooner and are best stored in a jar in the refrigerator or freezer. Couscous and orzo have an almost indefinite shelf life.