Savory Semolina with Peas and Cashews

Cupboard to Table

2 bowls · Active 15 min · Total 45 min

Toasted semolina becomes a soft savory bowl with peas, ginger and cashews. It cooks quickly and uses a small pan, making it useful when water and burner space are limited. The texture is closer to a soft grain porridge than separate rice, with crunchy nuts added at the end.

Jump to ingredients

Savory semolina with peas and toasted cashews.

Toast before adding liquid

Use coarse semolina, not plain flour or cornmeal. Toast it dry over medium-low heat, stirring, until fragrant and just beginning to color. Move it to a bowl while the onion cooks. This step gives the grain a warmer flavor and helps prevent raw-tasting clumps. Cashews can be toasted in the same pan first, but keep them separate afterward.

Pour slowly and stir

Once the vegetables and stock are simmering, sprinkle semolina in gradually while stirring continuously. Dumping it in one pile makes lumps with dry centers. It thickens quickly, so lower the heat and keep scraping the base. Add a little hot water if the mixture becomes stiff before the grain is tender. Finish with lime and herbs, then scatter cashews over individual bowls so they stay crisp.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped (35 g)
  • 3/4 cup coarse semolina (120 g)
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil (15 ml)
  • 1 small onion, finely diced (100 g)
  • 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (5 g)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas (105 g)
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock (360 ml), plus 2–4 tablespoons hot water if needed
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice (15 ml)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (5 g)

Set out

Medium saucepan, Wooden spoon, Two small bowls, one for cashews and one for toasted semolina

Allergens

Wheat, Tree nuts (cashew). Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. Toast cashews in the dry pan over medium-low heat for 2–3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Toast semolina in the same pan for 3 minutes, stirring, then transfer to a separate bowl.
  2. Heat oil in the pan. Cook onion for 5 minutes, then add ginger and cumin for 30 seconds.
  3. Add peas, stock and salt and bring to a boil. Maintain a gentle simmer for the full cooking time required by the frozen-pea packet before adding the semolina; thawing alone is not sufficient. Sprinkle semolina in gradually while stirring. Cook over low heat for 3–5 minutes, or the grain packet’s longer required time, until the grain is fully tender and soft, adding the measured extra hot water a tablespoon at a time if stiff.
  4. Stir in lime and cilantro. Divide into bowls and scatter cashews on top.

A small bag of grain goes far

Keep semolina sealed and dry in a labeled container. Measure before heating the pan so the grain does not scorch while you search the cupboard.

Timing

Includes separate cashew and semolina toasting, softening the onion, heating stock, completing the pea packet cooking, and cooking the semolina. A brand requiring longer cooking may extend the time.

A useful detail

Semolina grind and frozen-pea cooking instructions differ by brand. Cook the peas fully in the stock first, then complete the semolina’s required cooking. Check the cooked grain for tenderness and adjust the listed reserve water a tablespoon at a time.

Another way

  • Use toasted peanuts instead of cashews; the allergen changes to peanut.
  • Replace peas with finely diced cooked carrots, adding them with the stock.

Keep it well

Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below for up to 2 days. Keep nuts separate. Reheat to 165°F/74°C with extra water, stirring well.

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