Monday, April 12, 2010

Kamuooooot!

Well, I must say I have just fallen head over heels for my new (yet ancient) favorite grain, Kamut!
Kamut, (the name is derived from the ancient Egyptian word for wheat) has a great rich, buttery savory whole flavor, something I found similar to corn. Being a type of durum wheat compared to traditional wheat Kamut is loaded with nutrients! It has 40% more protein, more fatty acids, 30% more vitamin E, and more magnesium, selenium, and zinc. Another added bonus: Kamut is always grown organically! Since reading all this great info about Kamut I really wanted to start making it a staple. Well, its been sitting in the cupboard for a while, but I finally used it! When I first bought it I brainstormed a savoy salad with portobellos,  sun-dried tomatoes, capers, with a red wine vinegar. I finally put that together for a this lovely dish, which I named, King Tut's Revenge.


King Tut's Revenge

King Tut's Revenge Kamut Salad 
-1 cup uncooked Kamut*
-4 Portobello mushrooms, cut into strips
-1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, in oil
-1/4 cup capers
-1 small can black olives
-2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
-1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

For the Kamut, I followed the cooking directions given by Margaret Wittenberg in her book, New Good Food, and it came out perrrrrfect. It's very easy, unfortunately just a bit time consuming. If you soak the Kamut before hand, it will cut down on the cooking time to about 1 hour instead of the 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Put the dried Kamut in a sauce pan with 3 cups of cold water to 1 cup Kamut. If you soak the Kamut, use the water you soaked it in to retain nutrients. Bring the Kamut and water to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer until the grains are plump and a few have burst. 
Drain and rinse with cold water and transfer to a large mixing bowl. 
While the Kamut is a cooking, go ahead and saute the portobellos on medium heat, until they have reduced about half in size, set aside. Chop up the sun-dried tomatoes and add to the mixing bowl. Throw in the capers, olives, and vinegars. Once the mushrooms have cooled add them, and of coarse the Kamut when it is ready. Mix all together and ENJOY!!! 
*All right, so I didn't make enough Kamut (to have as a side for 6 people) so I went ahead and added in about 3/4 cup of cooked quinoa to bulk it up. If you're making this for a large crowd or want some left over, I would make 1 1/2 to two cups of Kamut

Dinner, starting left going clockwise: Quinoa Squash salad, balsamic drenched red cabbage, and King Tut's Revenge!



Butternut Squash cooked with cinnamon, dried cranberries, quinoa, and agave. 



A standard at our house, Red Cabbage chopped and mixed with balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

3 comments:

  1. I'm a huge fan of kamut. I often grind it into flour and use it in bread or make some kind of oatmeal with it. I need to try your recipe, it sounds really, really awesome!

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  2. Yea, you should, it is delicious! thanks for reading, and Im going to try to make flour with it, I really do love the taste!

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  3. Love the recipe and love that you love KAMUT. My name is Hannah and I represent Kamut International and we are always looking for new ways to use this great grain. There are soooo many ways you can use this amazing wheat! I would love to use your blog as a reference on our facebook page. (I love the first quote) Please let me know if that is ok! Also, we are running a competition called "Faces of Kamut" and we are giving away a goodie basket if you take a pic of yourself and your kamut!

    http://kl.am/aGz3

    Also, if you are on twitter we would love to see you there.

    Cheers,
    Hannah

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