Ingredients
Patties
- 200 gbuckwheat groats
- 500 mlwater
- 500 gminced beef or pork
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 2 clovesgarlic, crushed
- 1egg
- salt
- black pepper
To fry
- flour or breadcrumbs, for coating
- lard or oil
Sauce
- 1onion, chopped
- 1carrot, grated
- 2 tbsptomato paste
- 300 mlstock
- 1bay leaf
- 200 mlsmetana
To serve
- smetana
- dill
Directions
- Toast the buckwheat in a dry pan for 3 to 4 minutes, until it smells nutty.
- Toasting is what stops buckwheat cooking down to mush, and it deepens the flavour considerably. It is standard practice in Ukrainian kitchens.
- Cook it in the water with a little salt for 15 minutes, until soft and dry, then cool it completely.
- Cool the buckwheat before it goes near the meat. Warm porridge begins to cook the raw mince and the patties then bind badly.
- Mix the cooled buckwheat with the meat, onion, garlic, egg, salt and pepper and work it well with your hands.
- Roughly equal parts grain and meat is the traditional ratio, and stretching scarce meat with buckwheat is the entire purpose of the dish.
- Wet your hands and shape flat ovals about 2 cm thick.
- Coat them lightly in flour or breadcrumbs.
- Fry them in hot fat for about 3 minutes a side, until well browned.
- Brown them properly but do not try to cook them through in the pan. They finish in the sauce, and frying them out makes them dry.
- For the sauce, fry the onion and grated carrot, stir in the tomato paste, then add the stock and bay leaf.
- Lay the patties in a baking dish, pour the sauce over, and bake at 180°C (355°F) for 30 minutes.
- Stir the smetana into the sauce for the last 10 minutes, keeping it below a full boil.
- Serve with more smetana and plenty of chopped dill.
- It is home cooking that stretches scarce meat with the buckwheat that defines Ukraine’s grain habits.
Technique
- Buckwheat is the Ukrainian grain above all others, and hrechanyky are named directly after it.
- They are good cold as well, in a sandwich, which is how leftovers are usually dealt with.
- Some households use half buckwheat and half mashed potato.
Substitutions
- Any minced meat, including chicken or turkey.
- Rice in place of buckwheat, though that makes it a different dish entirely.
Variations
- Meatless, made with mushrooms and buckwheat.
- With a mushroom cream sauce instead of tomato.
- Made small, as an appetiser.
History
Ukrainian home cooking that stretches scarce meat with the buckwheat that defines the country’s grain habits.
Frequently asked questions
What is Hrechanyky?
Hrechanyky is a main from Ukraine: meat patties bound with buckwheat porridge, fried then baked in sauce. Ukrainian home cooking that stretches scarce meat with the buckwheat that defines the country’s grain habits.
How long does Hrechanyky take to make?
Hrechanyky takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 12 patties. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Hrechanyky?
Yes, within limits. Any minced meat, including chicken or turkey. Rice in place of buckwheat, though that makes it a different dish entirely.
What is the most important thing to get right in Hrechanyky?
Roughly equal parts grain and meat is the traditional ratio, and stretching scarce meat with buckwheat is the entire purpose of the dish.
