Hrechanyky z M'yasom (гречаники з м'ясом, buckwheat and pork patties)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium saucepan with a tight lid
• •Wide heavy frying pan
• •Large mixing bowl
• •Wide baking dish or ovenproof shallow casserole
• •Box grater

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the hrechka

   Put the rinsed buckwheat, water, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt into a saucepan. Bring it to a lively bubble, then lower the heat, cover, and cook until the water has disappeared and the grains are tender but still separate. Spread it on a tray to cool to room warmth. You want loose kasha, not hot porridge.

   Leftover buckwheat is perfect here, as long as it is dry and separate. If it is wet, spread it out and let the surface dry before mixing, or the patties will slump.
2. 2

   Sweeten one onion

   Warm 1 tablespoon of the sunflower oil in a wide pan and add one diced onion with a pinch of salt. Let it soften slowly until translucent and sweet, until the smell changes from sharp onion to something rounder. Scrape it into a bowl and let it cool. Raw onion leaks water into the meat; cooked onion gives sweetness without trouble.

3. 3

   Mix the patties

   In a large bowl, combine the pork, cooled buckwheat, cooled onion, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs or flour, paprika, black pepper, and the remaining salt. Mix with one hand until the pork turns tacky and the buckwheat clings through it, but stop before you mash the grains into paste. Squeeze a handful. It should hold together and still look speckled with hrechka.

4. 4

   Shape and dust

   Wet your hands and shape the mixture into about 16 oval patties, each the size of a small clenched palm. Flatten them a little so they brown properly. Dust each one with a thin veil of flour and shake off the excess; too much flour clouds the sauce instead of helping the crust.

5. 5

   Brown the crust

   Heat 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil in the wide pan. Fry the patties in batches, leaving space between them, until both sides are dark nut-brown in patches and the edges feel set. Listen for a steady crackle. If the oil spits angrily, lower the heat; if the pan is silent, raise it a little. They do not need to cook through yet.

   This browning is the step that does not forgive skipping. The oven finishes the pork, but the pan gives you the crust that makes hrechanyky taste like themselves.
6. 6

   Make the zasmazhka

   In the same pan, add the remaining oil, the second diced onion, and the grated carrot. Cook gently until the onion softens, the carrot stains the oil orange, and the browned bits from the patties loosen from the pan. This is a small zasmazhka, the slow-sweated flavour base. Stir in the tomato, broth or water, bay leaf, and sugar if the tomatoes bite too sharply. Let it bubble until the raw tomato smell turns mellow.

   The sauce waits until after the patties are browned. That way its sweetness sits around the crust and the buckwheat drinks it slowly instead of dissolving.
7. 7

   Bake and serve

   Heat the oven to 180C. Lay the browned patties in a wide baking dish or ovenproof pan and spoon the tomato zasmazhka around them, leaving some browned tops showing. Cover and bake until the sauce is thick at the edges and the patties feel firm when pressed. Uncover for the last few minutes if you want the tops darker. Rest them briefly, then scatter with dill and serve with cold smetana. Make the whole tray. There is no tradition of a small one.

Chef Tips

• •The buckwheat should be cooked before it meets the meat. Dry, separate grains bind and taste nutty; hot wet porridge makes the mixture heavy and loose.
• •Use pork with some fat. If all you have is very lean mince, add an extra spoon of sunflower oil or a spoon of smetana to the mixture so the patties do not dry out.
• •No oven? Brown the patties, return them to the pan with the sauce, cover, and let them finish gently on the stove. Keep the bubble lazy so the bottoms do not catch.
• •Mushroom hrechanyky are a good fast-day version, and turkey makes a lighter modern tray. Different, not lesser. The buckwheat knows what to do.
• •They improve overnight in their sauce. Reheat gently with a splash of water, then add fresh dill at the end so it stays green.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the buckwheat up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the fridge. Cold leftover hrechka makes shaping easier.
• •The shaped raw patties can be chilled for up to 24 hours before frying. Keep them covered and cook them straight from cold.
• •Baked hrechanyky keep for 3 days in the fridge and freeze well in their sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 275g)