Лемішка — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A dense, satisfying porridge made from toasted buckwheat flour, cooked until thick and served with butter and fried onions — one of Ukraine's oldest peasant staples.

Ingredients

1.5 cups buckwheat flour
3 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1 Bring salted water to a boil in a heavy pot.
2 Gradually pour buckwheat flour into boiling water in a thin stream, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps.
3 Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-12 minutes until the porridge is very thick and pulls away from the sides.
4 Meanwhile, fry sliced onion in vegetable oil until deep golden and crispy, about 8 minutes.
5 Stir butter into the hot porridge until melted.
6 Serve in bowls topped with fried onions and extra butter.

Did You Know?

Lemishka was so common in Cossack diets that the phrase 'to eat lemishka' became synonymous with enduring hardship — simple food for tough times.