Grist: A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes

by Abra Berens, Lucy Engelman (Illustrator), EE Berger (Photographer)

Overview

The only grain and legume cookbook you need!

Shortlisted for the 2022 Art of Eating Prize

As featured in Epicurious, Modern Farmer, Refinery29, Shape, Plated, Eater, Food52, Midwest Living, Bon Appetit, MindBodyGreen, The Infatuation, Associated Press, On the Menu, and NPR's The Splendid Table.

Make grains the easiest, healthiest, and most exciting stars on your table. Abra Berens, a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef and the author of Ruffage, shares more than 300 recipes and variations, plus substantial reference information to help you discover the next great grain. Grist includes more than 125 recipes for 29 different types of grains, legumes, and seeds that, in combination with vegetables and lean proteins, are the stars of the healthiest, most variable, and most satisfying meals—many of them gluten free.

Home cooks will be attracted to the reference quality of the book, its beauty (more than 100 gorgeous photos and 30 illustrations) and heft (125 recipes + 300 variations = 448 pages), as well as the great writing, relatable voice, author authority, and unique recipe style. New and seasoned home cooks alike will find themselves turning to this guide to develop a repertoire of approachable, big-on-flavor recipes.

THIS IS THE A TO Z OF GRAINS, BEANS, AND LEGUMES: The content is deep and authoritative, but also wide-ranging, with information and recipes for 29 different grains, legumes, and seeds: Amaranth, Barley, Black-Eyed Peas, Buckwheat, Bulgur, Chickpeas, Common Beans, Corn, Cowpeas, Crowder Peas, Farro, Fava Beans, Field Peas, Fonio, Freekeh, Legumes, Lentils, Lima Beans, Millet, Oats, Quinoa, Rice, Sorghum, Split Peas, Soy Beans, Teff, Tiny Seed Grains, and Wheat Berries.

REFERENCE BOOK: Organized by type of grain/legume/seed, each chapter offers authoritative info and tips that home cooks can use to deepen their knowledge of ingredients and broaden their stable of techniques. The recipes are simple, generally quick to prepare, and use ingredients that are easy to find or often already in people's pantries.

FOLLOW-UP ON SUCCESS: Ruffage by Abra Berens was named a Best Cookbook by the New York Times and Bon Appétit, was a 2019 Michigan Notable Book winner, and was nominated for a 2019 James Beard Award.

"Things in my kitchen have changed since Ruffage arrived. This organized, easygoing guide to 29 vegetables offers a few cooking methods for each one, supplemented by several variations."—Kim Severson, New York Times

"[Ruffage] is a total classic in the making."—Christina Chaey, associate editor, Bon Appétit

"Crammed with exciting ideas that encourage creativity, this lively book will quickly become an essential item in the home cook's library."—Library Journal (starred review)

Perfect for:

• Home cooks seeking to take their skills to the next level
• Busy people who need easy recipes for clean eating but still want them to taste good
• Fans of beloved cookbooks known for their simple, healthy recipes such as The Moosewood Cookbook, Half Baked Harvest Every Day, or Ottolenghi Simple

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781797207131
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	10/26/2021
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	128,294
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Abra Berens is a Michigan chef, author, and former farmer. Through every recipe written and meal served, she aims to tighten the connection between eaters and growers. She believes we can invest in a stronger, more equitable food system for everyone, from producers to grocers to consumers. Her cookbook Ruffage: A Practice Guide to Vegetables was a 2019 Michigan Notable Book winner and James Beard Award nominee. Her dinners at Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan, made her a James Beard semifinalist for Outstanding Chef: Great Lakes.

EE Berger is a Detroit-based photographer focused on food, lifestyle, product, and portrait work.

Lucy Engelman is an illustrator who puts pen to paper in Pittsburgh, PA.

Table of Contents

Introduction 15

How to Use This Book-And Some Things to Know 20

Glossary of Terms 24

Vegetable Cheat Sheet 27

Part 1 Condiments

Vinaigrettes, Mayos, and Dressings 34

Spice Oils and Mixtures 39

Gussied-Up Dairy 42

Herb Relishes and Flavorful Rigs 46

Pickled/Marinated Vegetables 52

Part 2 Legumes

Bean family 63

Beans, broad: lima, fava, soy 64

Boiled: bean + vegetable + flavor + texture 69

Stewed: choose your own bean adventure 73

Puréed: yemeni foul w/fry bread + harissa 76

Fresh: how to build a myriad of fresh bean salads 81

Beans, common 84

Former profile: matt berens 86

A week's worth of black beans without any boredom 95

Boiled: cranberry bean salad w/roasted carrots + mojo de ajo 99

Stewed: cannellini beans w/saffron sofrito, shaved cauliflower + tomato paprika mayo 102

Pot licker: greens + bean pot licker 109

Marinated: anchovy-garlic marinated corona beans w/arugula + beets 113

Peas, cow: black-eyed peas, crowder peas, field peas 116

Farmer profile; jerry hebron 118

Boiled: crowder pea salad w/cucumbers, tomato, herbs + anchovy vinaigrette 127

Stewed: black-eyed peas w/ham hocks and vegetables 129

Fried: accara black-eyed pea fritters 132

Chickpeas 135

Boiled: whole roasted leeks w/chickpeas, lemon vinaigrette, ricotta + chard 137

Smashed: garlic-smashed chickpeas 140

Fried: shaved summer squash w/greek yogurt, fried chickpeas + za'atar oil 143

Stewed: tomato + parsnip stew w/wilted kale 145

Flour: all the ways with chickpea flour 151

Fresh: tomato slabs w/green chickpeas, olive rig + fresh mozzarella 159

Lentils 163

Sprouted: sprouted lentils w/shaved brussels, parmesan + hazelnut rig 166

A week's worth of lentils without any boredom 168

Boiled: lentil + pecan filled acorn squash w/sage fried brown butter 171

Fried: seared eggplant + cherry tomatoes w/fried lentils + tahini dressing 175

Soup: lentil soup w/cumin, garlic, lemon + pine nuts 177

Peas, split field 183

Fried: pea breakfast fritters w/fried egg, greens + smoked yogurt 186

Soup: split pea soup w/balsamic vinegar 190

Marinated: how to build a hearty split pea salad 194

Part 3 Grains

Barley 201

Farmer profile: carl wagner 204

A week's worth of barley without any boredom 210

Bailed: roasted parsnips + endive w/mornay sauce + barley 215

Risotto-ed: barley, risotto-ed 218

Flour: barley pancakes 222

Flour: barley thumbprint cookies 224

Flour: barley doughnuts soaked in marigold syrup 226

Buckwheat 229

Boiled: seared chicken thighs w/buckwheat, smashed cucumbers + tajin oil 233

Sprouted: buckwheat w/dried cherries + hazelnuts over warm parsnip puree 236

Fried: roasted sweet potatoes w/fried buckwheat + harissa 241

Flour: buckwheat crepes 243

Corn 249

Boiled: corn porridge w/mushroom cream -sauce + spinach 255

What to do with leftover grits 258

Flour: all-corn cornbread w/jalapenos, peaches + ricotta 261

Flour: spoon pudding w/pork chops + cabbage salad 264

Flour: hoecakes w/fresh mozzarella, tomato + soybeans 267

Hominy: paprika-honey country ribs w/hominy + lemon parsley mojo 269

Popcorn: ck special pop 273

Oats 277

Porridge: cut oatmeal w/brown sugar, heavy cream + salt 283

Pan fried: crispy gnoatcchi w/cherry tomatoes, creamed mozzarella + mint almond relish 287

Baked: savory granola 291

Baked: mollies granola 293

How to build a myriad of granola-topped dishes 294

Flour: oatmeal-encrusted perch w/tomato, cucumber + feta salad 296

Milk: oat milk base recipe 301

Rice family 303

Rice, basmati and Jasmine 304

Farmer profile: rachel roche 307

Boiled: boiled + buttered rice w/seared chicken thighs + green salad 311

Marinated: rice salad w/marinated eggplant, tajin oil + broccolini 315

Crisped: crisped rice w/carrots, chickpeas + mojo de ajo 318

Porridge: savory rice porridge w/cheddar, chicken stock + greens 323

Porridge: sweet rice porridge w/dried cherries + five spice 324

Milk: horchata base recipe 327

Rice, risotto 330

Risotto: carte blanch risotto 334

Rice, wild 339

Farmer profile: lorry gates 341

Stewed: wild rice w/seared salmon, fennel + salted plum salad 345

Soup: chicken + wild rice soup w/kale + tomato paprika mayo 349

Tiny seed grains 355

Boiled: braised rabbit w/tiny grains, radishes + tarragon sunflower seed rig 360

Marinated: baby beets w/marinated sorghum + smoked yogurt 364

Fried: any grain fritter base recipe 369

Sprouted: sprouted yeasted brown loaf 372

Wheat family 375

Farmer profile: Meadowlark Organics 380

Wheat berries: common, kamut, kernza, rye, spelt 387

Boiled: cucumber + parsley salad w/pickle liquid dressing 389

Flour: flaky rye + three cheese galette w/asparagus salad 392

Bulgur 396

Boiled or soaked: seared trout w/bulgur, fennel, radish + creamy mustard dressing 397

Fried: roasted carrots w/crisped bulgur, pistachios, goat cheese, pickled cherries + arugula 400

Farro 404

Boiled: matrix of farro salads 407

Risotto-ed: pork meatballs w/tomato farrisotto 411

Stewed: carrot farro stew w/lemon chamomile oil 415

Stewed: eggplant tomato farrow stew w/harissa 417

Stewed: farro stewed w/runner beans + a lot of garlic 418

Stewed: zucchini + farro stew w/paprika cumin oil 419

Flour: basic pasta ratio 420

Freekeh 426

Boiled: slow-cooked salmon w/freekeh + tahini dressing 427

Stewed: stewed freekeh + chicken w/asparagus + lemon oil 431

Sources 437

Acknowledgments 440

Index 442

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/16/2021

In this highly informative work, chef Berens (Ruffage) showcases the potential of cooking with grains and legumes. “The perception of whole grains seems to still be of leaden health food, endless cooking times, and cud-like chewing,” writes Berens. She debunks this misconception with more than 140 recipes that celebrate the “underappreciated staples... in their unprocessed (and often savory) state.” After guiding readers through “some things to know”—including how to mitigate “swings in gas”—she begins with a chapter of condiments, featuring vinaigrettes, pickles, and sauces such as lemon tahini or garam masala yogurt. In a hearty section on legumes, the bean family is outlined alongside helpful grids and flavor formulas that show cooks how to build versatile and vibrant dishes such as stewed Cannellini beans with saffron sofrito, or how to enjoy “a week’s worth of black beans without any boredom.” Grains get their due in a number of imaginative recipes, including gnocchi made from oats, barley doughnuts, and stewed frekkeh (a cracked wheat similar to bulgur). Woven throughout are essays and farmer interviews that present a strong case for increasing the role of grains and legumes in the global food system. The result is a definitive guide rich with flavor and inspiration. Agent: Kari Stuart, ICM Partners. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"In this highly informative work, chef Berens (Ruffage) showcases the potential of cooking with grains and legumes ... Woven throughout are essays and farmer interviews that present a strong case for increasing the role of grains and legumes in the global food system. The result is a definitive guide rich with flavor and inspiration."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

Shortlisted for 2022 The Art of Eating Prize. "Allows the home cook to really dive in and expand their possibilities of meaningful and healthy cooking and eating. No other book this year has made me think about changing the way I cook at home more than Grist.”

"Berens encourages readers to start with ingredients they’re excited about ... Interspersed features highlight working farmers and their areas of specialty, serving to illustrate issues that inform Berens' ethics and worldview."—Booklist

"A thorough A to Z of grains, beans, seeds, and legumes, Grist is based on the philosophy that great cooking comes from working with ingredients you’re excited about."—Eater

"Berens strolls through each category with representative methods (such as boiled, fried, sprouted) with an eye toward variety and versatility over 125 recipes."—Chicago Reader

"Spanning nearly 450 pages, Grist features 125 recipes and twice as many variations on those, plus a great glossary and cheat sheet to get you started." -Epicurious

From the Publisher

09/01/2021

Berens has received James Beard award nominations for both her work as a chef at Michigan restaurant Granor Farm and for her 2019 cookbook Ruffage. Her latest employs a similar format and ethos to explore 29 grains, seeds, and legumes from around the world (among them, amaranth, fonio, quinoa, and cowpeas). Recipes are organized into three categories (grains, seeds, legumes), then by preparation method (boiling, pan-frying, milling, sprouting), and Berens shares dozens of tips for choosing, storing, and cooking these staples. Her more than 140 savory and sweet recipes elevate shelf-stable ingredients by adding fresh flavors, in dishes like accara (West African black-eyed pea fritters), corn porridge with mushroom cream, horchata, and barley doughnuts with marigold syrup, plus salads, soups, risottos, vegetable medleys, and breads. Each recipe features several variations, often driven by seasonal ingredients; there are plenty of vegan and vegetarian options, and where meat is featured in a recipe it can easily be omitted. VERDICT Berens demystifies grains, seeds, and legumes with her suggestions. An essential guide for home chefs looking to cook more than white rice and canned beans.—Kelsy Peterson, Brighton Grammar Sch., Melbourne, Australia

Library Journal