Splendors of the Grass

Fruit and vegetables are important, but grass is what we live on. Half the protein and three quarters of the energy human beings consume come directly from the grass seeds known as grains (well, some of that energy comes from the sap of a giant grass called sugar cane). Most of the meat, eggs and milk we eat comes from animals who live on grasses. They may be tiny little plants, but everything that we are is based on them.

They’re the go-getters of the plant world. They don’t waste time growing woody stalks or deep roots--most of a grass plant is leaves, energetically turning sunlight into food. They’re not as picky about soil quality and moisture as a lot of plants. Their strategy is volume, volume, volume, and that’s why there are so many creatures, like ourselves, who live off grass in one way or another.

Because of the abundance of grasses and the concentrated nutrition to be found in their seeds, every civilization has been founded on grain. The first plants people grew on purpose were probably root crops like yams, and theoretically a root-eating civilization could have developed. But even the Incas, in whose mountains the most successful root crop of all was domesticated, didn’t live primarily on potatoes. They grew more quinoa than potatoes, and their calendar was based on the planting cycle of corn.

You could even make a case that grain is responsible for civilization. When people settled down to farm, it was to raise grain. Now that they were living side by side with people they weren’t related to, they had to outgrow tribal ways of doing things, and concepts of law and property and individual rights had to develop.

Farmers have to plan ahead, so a calendar had to be devised. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, where floods often destroyed boundary markers, geometry had to be invented to re-establish field ownership when the waters receded. When writing was developed, it wasn’t to record the deep thoughts of philosophers but primarily to keep track of grain sales and inventories. Because of grain, the modern world was just about inevitable.

So we should get those B vitamins and all the fiber and protein and other good things in grains, but we shouldn’t forget about the rest of what we owe them. Let’s hear it for the little guys.

KATHIE JENKINS’ WILD RICE SOUP

1/4 cup butter

4 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1 small onion, diced

1 small red onion, diced

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1 tablespoon dill weed

2 teaspoons black pepper

2 teaspoons garlic salt

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

4 quarts chicken stock

1 1/2 cups wild rice, well washed

1/2 cup white rice, well washed

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 egg yolks

4 cups diced chicken

3 cups sliced mushrooms

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, all onions and almonds and saute until slightly tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add dill weed, pepper, garlic salt, bay leaves and turmeric.

In separate large pot, bring chicken stock, wild rice, white rice and salt to boil. Reduce heat, add celery mixture, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add more stock if too thick. Whisk 1 cup hot soup into yolks, then whisk back into soup. Add chicken and mushrooms. Discard bay leaves. Heat gently. Do not boil. Serve immediately. Makes 12 servings.

Each serving contains about:

282 calories; 1,444 mg sodium; 111 mg cholesterol; 12 grams fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 16 grams protein; .84 gram fiber.

It’s important to cook the pilaf until all the liquid is absorbed. Do not stir or the mixture will become mushy. You can substitute 1 tablespoon dried basil for fresh, but Italian parsley is essential for proper flavor. Ordinary curly parsley won’t give the same effect.

ROSE DOSTI’S ARMENIAN PILAF

1/2 cup butter

2 onions, chopped

2 cups large-grind bulgur

3 1/2 cups hot chicken broth

1 cup finely chopped Italian parsley

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil

Dash cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons chicken-seasoned stock base

Salt, pepper

Melt butter in large heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and saute until golden brown. Add bulgur and cook 3 to 4 minutes longer.

Pour hot broth onto bulgur mixture and stir. Add parsley, tomatoes, green pepper, basil, cayenne, chicken stock base and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover tightly and cook over low heat until all broth is absorbed, about 30 minutes. Stir lightly and let stand in warm place 15 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

259 calories; 843 mg sodium; 31 mg cholesterol; 13 grams fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 1.07 grams fiber.

Anybody interested in baking with whole grains ought to invest in Ken Haedrich’s new book, “Home for the Holidays: Festive Baking With Whole Grains” (Bantam: $25). Consider the following tart. On the face of it, chocolate and buckwheat don’t sound like a match made in heaven. But Haedrich considers that since both are quite assertive, they actually complement one another, and the tart proves his point. It’s rich, sophisticated and so delicious that a number of us instantly put it on our list of 10 favorite recipes of the year.

CHOCOLATE-BUCKWHEAT TART

1 (9-inch) tart shell made with Buckwheat-Cocoa Tart Pastry

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Lightly sweetened whipped cream, optional

Almond extract, optional

Fully bake tart shell as directed in pastry recipe. As it cools, make filling. Heat cream, milk and sugar in small saucepan over medium heat until very hot. Add chocolate, turn off heat and whisk until smooth, about 15 seconds. Stir in vanilla. Let mixture sit in saucepan 15 minutes. Whisk egg into chocolate mixture just until smooth.

Scrape filling into tart shell and bake in 350-degree oven 20 to 25 minutes, just until surface looks set and edge looks slightly dry. Transfer to rack and cool in pan. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature with lightly sweetened whipped cream flavored with a drop of almond extract. Store tart in cool spot, covered with plastic wrap. Makes 8 servings.

Each serving contains about:

612 calories; 134 mg sodium; 119 mg cholesterol; 44 grams fat; 47 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams protein; 0.34 gram fiber.

“A buckwheat pastry,” writes Haedrich, “has only so many uses, since the buckwheat flavor is strong and not particularly easy to match to a filling.” But he found that the cocoa in this pastry tones down the buckwheat.

Buckwheat-Cocoa Tart Pastry

3/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup unbleached flour

2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons ice-cold water

In large bowl, combine buckwheat and unbleached flours with sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir well. Add butter and cut in thoroughly until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon water, tossing and compacting mixture with fork as you go. Sprinkle on another 1/2 tablespoon water and continue to toss and compact, adding remaining 1/2 tablespoon water, if needed, to allow dough to be gathered into ball. In bowl, knead dough several times to distribute fat.

Put dough on sheet of plastic wrap and flatten with palm into disk about 1/2-inch thick. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, then refrigerate about 30 minutes before rolling. If dough is refrigerated longer, it will be too cold to roll out easily. If dough is too cold, let pastry stand at room temperature about 10 minutes before rolling.

To roll out crust, lightly flour sheet of wax paper and roll dough into 11-inch circle. Leave pastry on paper and invert over 9-inch tart pan. Center pastry, peel off paper, then gently tuck pastry into crease of pan. Pastry will be slightly fragile and may develop cracks at this point. Remedy by pushing dough back together. Take any overhanging dough and push against side of pan even with top of pan, to push side up. Refrigerate or freeze pastry 30 minutes to firm up.

To bake shell, line with foil and weights and bake at 400 degrees 20 minutes. Then remove foil and weights and bake another 10 to 12 minutes. Shell will be shade or two darker when done and will feel crisp, not soft. Cool shell in pan before filling.

KEN HAEDRICH’S THREE-GRAIN BISCUITS

Butter

1 1/3 cups unbleached flour

1/3 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground

1/3 cup rolled oats (not instant)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

Lightly butter large baking sheet--preferably dark metal. Combine flour, cornmeal, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in mixing bowl. Add unsalted butter and rub or cut in until mixture looks like coarse meal. Blend sour cream and milk in separate bowl, make well in dry ingredients and add liquid to well all at once. Stir dough until evenly mixed.

Sprinkle dough, your hands and work surface with flour. Turn dough out and knead gently 20 or 30 seconds. Use little more flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking. Pat dough out to thickness of about 3/4 inch. Cut dough using 2-inch or 2 1/4-inch round cutter. Keep cuts close together. Place biscuits on buttered baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees 13 to 14 minutes until browned and crusty. Serve at once. Makes 14 biscuits.

Each serving contains about:

104 calories; 123 mg sodium; 13 mg cholesterol; 5 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams protein; 0.07 gram fiber.

The Jains in Ahmadabad make this millet pilaf with sweet spices and vegetables very much the way an authentic rice pilaf is prepared. It is a meal in itself and needs no accompaniment, but you may serve a vegetable salad or vegetables with yogurt alongside. From “Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking” by Julie Sahni (William Morrow: 1985).

AHMADABAD JAIN PULLAO (Jain Coriander-Scented Millet and Mung Bean Pilaf)

1/2 cup whole mung beans (moong dal)

1 cup bajra (pearl millet)

2 bay leaves

6 tablespoons oil

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 medium onions, chopped

4 serrano chiles, chopped

1 tablespoon peeled and finely chopped ginger root

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 teaspoons Gujarati Garam Masala

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced

1 large tomato, sliced

Pick over mung beans and place in bowl. Add enough water to cover beans by at least 2 inches. Let soak at least 8 hours. Drain, rinse, drain again and set aside.

Combine millet, bay leaves and 2 tablespoons oil in 5-quart Dutch oven and stir over high heat 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and fry millet, stirring, until light golden, about 5 minutes. Place cooked millet in bowl and set aside.

Add remaining 4 tablespoons oil to pan and increase heat to medium-high. Add mustard and cumin seeds. (Keep lid handy because seeds will spatter.) When spattering dies down, add onions, chiles and ginger and cook, stirring until onions are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add ground cumin, coriander and turmeric. Mix well and continue frying 1 more minute.

Add reserved millet, drained mung beans, lemon juice and salt and mix thoroughly. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to boil. Lower heat and cook, covered, until beans and millet are cooked but still firm to bite, about 30 minutes.

Transfer mixture to heated serving platter. Sprinkle with Gujarati Garam Masala and cilantro and garnish with cucumber and tomato. Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

358 calories; 602 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 16 grams fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams protein; 2.4 grams fiber.

Gujarati Garam Masala

1/4 cup cumin seeds

1/4 cup coriander seeds

1/4 cup black peppercorns

4 dried red chiles, broken into bits

1/2 cinnamon stick, broken into bits

3/4 tablespoon whole cloves

7 to 8 whole bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons cardamom seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Heat heavy skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Combine cumin, coriander, peppercorns, chiles, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaves, cardamom, sesame and fennel seeds and place in pan. Dry-roast, stirring and turning constantly until all spices are several shades darker and exude spicy aroma, about 10 minutes.

Add thyme during last minute of roasting. Transfer to bowl and let spices cool completely, then grind to fine powder in blender, spice mill or mortar. Add nutmeg. Store mixture in airtight container.