Styrian buckwheat crumble (Heidensterz)

1. Bring the water to the boil with the salt in a pan.

2. Pour in the buckwheat flour all at once without stirring; poke a hole in the centre with the handle of a wooden spoon and cook covered over low heat for 10 minutes.

3. Pour off some of the water (set it aside), then break the mixture into small crumbs with a fork and wooden spoon; if too dry, add some of the reserved water.

4. Heat the lard in a large pan and render the finely diced bacon in it.

5. Add the buckwheat crumbs and fry over medium heat, turning often, for 8-10 minutes until loose and slightly crisp.

6. Serve as a side with mushroom goulash, sauerkraut or meat - traditionally it was also eaten for breakfast with milky coffee or broth.

Tip: A good Sterz is loose and crumbly: don't press while stirring, tear it apart with a fork like Kaiserschmarrn.