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Cooking Grains, the Easy Way

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Makes 3 to 4 cups (4 servings) 1x

Time 10 minutes to more than an hour, depending on the grain

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Israeli couscous, quinoa, barley (any type), oat groats, buckwheat groats, cracked wheat, dried hominy, rye berries, farro, or Kamut, or 1 1/2 cups wheat berries
  • Salt

Instructions

  1. Combine the grain with a large pinch salt and water to cover by about an inch in a medium saucepan. (Use 3 cups water for pearled barley, which predictably absorbs a more precise amount of water.) Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the liquid bubbles gently.
  2. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the grain is tender. This will take as little as 7 or 8 minutes with Israeli couscous and as long as an hour or more for hulled barley, wheat berries, and other minimally milled grains. Hominy can take 2 hours or longer. Add boiling water as necessary to keep the grain covered, but— especially as the grain swells and begins to get tender— maintain just enough water in the pot to keep the grain from drying out.
  3. The grain is done when it feels done; whole grains will always have some bite to them, but milled or cut grains will become mushy if overcooked, so be careful. Ideally, the water will all have been absorbed by about the same time the grain is tender, but if any water remains, drain the grain in a fine- mesh sieve.
  4. To season the grain right away, see “8 Ways to Enhance Cooked Grains” (below). If you’re storing this batch, toss with a fork to fluff the grains, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to several months.

– Recipe from How to Cook Everything: Completely Revised Twentieth Anniversary Edition 

Recipe variations

7 Ways to Enhance Cooked Grains
In Step 4, use a large fork to toss any of the following ingredients in with the grains and butter or oil:

  1. Just-tender cooked vegetables, like peas, chopped greens, broccoli or cauliflower florets, or chopped root vegetables
  2. A couple spoonfuls of a simple sauce, like any flavored olive oil, compound butter, vinaigrette, pesto, or chile paste.
  3. Finely grated or crumbled cheese, like Parmesan, feta, any blue cheese, or goat cheese
  4. Minced fresh herbs, like chives, parsley, rosemary, or mint
  5. Any cooked beans
  6. Dried fruit, like raisins, cranberries, cherries, or chopped dates or apricots, with or without chopped nuts or seeds
  7. Cooked chopped sausage, bacon, ham, or any cooked meat or fish