Pot-Baked Buckwheat Kasha with Porcini, Smetana and Jammy Eggs

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Put the dried porcini in a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot water and soak for 20 min. Don't throw away this water; it becomes your intensely flavoured cooking broth.

   Add in this stepDried porcini mushrooms 10 gHot water (for soaking the porcini; becomes the cooking broth) 320 ml

   oven

2. Pick over and rinse the buckwheat and drain well. Melt a little of the butter in a 24 cm frying pan, add the buckwheat and toast over medium heat for 4 min, until the grains absorb the butter, turn a shade darker and smell nutty. Tip into a bowl.

   Add in this stepRoasted buckwheat groats (kasha) 140 gButter 10 g

   medium heat

3. Lift out the porcini, squeeze them and chop roughly; strain the soaking water through a sieve lined with paper towel to remove grit. Melt more butter in the same pan and cook the chopped onion over medium heat for 6 min, until golden. Add the sliced mushrooms and porcini, turn up to medium-high heat and cook for 7 min, until the liquid has gone and they are browned. Season with a little of the salt and pepper.

   Add in this stepOnion 1Butter 10 gButton or chestnut mushrooms 160 gSalt ¼ tspBlack pepper to taste

   medium heat→medium-high heat

4. Get out 2 ovenproof pot(s) or ramekin(s) of 400–500 ml each (one per person). Divide the buckwheat and mushrooms between them and mix. Dissolve the rest of the salt in the strained porcini water and pour it over; the liquid should cover the buckwheat by 1 cm, so top up with hot water if needed. Add a bay leaf and a knob of butter to each, and cover with lids or foil.

   Add in this stepSalt ½ tspBay leaves 1Butter 10 g

5. Bake in the oven for 35 min. Meanwhile, lower the eggs into a small pot of boiling water, cook for 6 min 30 sec and plunge straight into iced water for jammy, runny-centred yolks.

   Add in this stepEggs 2

   oven

6. Take the pots out and let them stand for 5 minutes (they are very hot, use oven gloves). Remove the bay leaves, stir in the remaining butter with a fork, then top with a spoonful of sour cream, the halved eggs and dill. Serve in the pots.

   Add in this stepButter 10 gSour cream (smetana) 2 tbspFresh dill 4 g