Kvasha (кваша, soured fermented grain pudding)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A large heatproof bowl
• •A heavy-bottomed pot
• •A wooden spoon with a flat edge
• •A clean towel or loose lid

Instructions

1. 1

   Scald the grains

   Put the rye flour, buckwheat flour, malt if using, and salt into a large heatproof bowl. Pour in the boiling water slowly, whisking hard, until you have a thick batter the colour of wet clay. It will look plain at first, then the rye smell opens, dark and bready.

   This scald is the dish's hinge. Boiling water swells the grain and wakes the malted sweetness, so the souring has something generous to work on.
2. 2

   Cool and sour

   Leave the bowl uncovered until the batter is only warm, comfortable to hold a finger in, not hot. Stir in the rye sourdough starter if you're using it, cover loosely with a clean towel or lid, and leave in a warm room overnight. By morning it should smell pleasantly sour, like rye bread and apples left in a basket, with small bubbles at the edges.

   Modern flour can be sleepy, so the starter is a modern nudge, not a betrayal. If the batter smells rotten, bitter, or shows fuzzy mold, throw it away and start again. Sour is welcome. Spoiled is not.
3. 3

   Soak the pears

   Put the chopped dried pears in a small bowl and cover with the hot water while you get the pot ready. They should soften but keep their chew, and the soaking liquid will turn amber and smell faintly of uzvar, the Ukrainian dried fruit drink.

4. 4

   Cook it thick

   Scrape the soured batter into a heavy pot and set it over a low flame. Stir from the bottom with a wooden spoon, adding the pear soaking liquid little by little. At first it may look split and sulky, then it turns glossy and begins to move as one mass. Keep stirring until the raw flour smell is gone, the surface gives thick lazy blips, and the spoon leaves a path through the pot.

   Don't let buckwheat scorch. If the pot starts grabbing at the bottom, lower the heat and loosen with a splash of hot water.
5. 5

   Sweeten the sour

   Stir in the soaked pears, honey, and sunflower oil if using. Taste. It should not taste like a nursery pudding; the sourness should still stand up, with the honey rounding its shoulders. Add a pinch more salt if it tastes flat, or another spoon of honey if your rye was especially sharp.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Cover the pot and let the kvasha settle for a few minutes before serving. Spoon it warm into bowls, with a thin shine of honey over the top, or let it cool and serve it the next day when the grain has tightened and the sourness has softened. Make a big pot. Nearly lost dishes need witnesses.

Chef Tips

• •Use whole rye flour if you can. White rye will ferment, but whole rye brings the bread-crust smell that makes kvasha worth reviving.
• •The souring step forgives a cool kitchen, but not neglect. If nothing has happened by the next day, stir in active rye sourdough and give it a few more hours, keeping it under 24 hours total at room temperature.
• •Add most of the honey at the end. Boiling honey hard wastes its scent, and this dish needs its floral edge against the rye sourness.
• •Kvasha thickens as it cools. Loosen leftovers with hot water and stir slowly until glossy again.

Advance Preparation

• •The grain batter needs 10 to 16 hours to sour at warm room temperature. Start it the night before you want to cook.
• •Cooked kvasha keeps for 3 days in the fridge. It can be served cold, or reheated gently with a splash of hot water.
• •The dried pears can be chopped ahead and kept in a jar, ready for soaking while the kvasha cooks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)