Warm buckwheat and beetroot salad

Warm buckwheat and beetroot salad

buckwheat beetroot salad portion

This recipe will make my mum happy. She is a big buckwheat fan and she keeps on telling me how healthy it is (she is right) and that I should come up with a buckwheat recipe.

Relatively unknown in certain countries, buckwheat has always been a very popular thing to eat in Poland. In fact, its widespread popularity predates the popularity of potatoes, which most Poles consider to be traditional fare despite the fact that they were completely unknown in Poland until the seventeenth century.

One of our classic buckwheat dishes is a cooked, toasted buckwheat (which has an earthy, slightly nutty flavour), topped with fried egg, wilted spinach and accompanied by a ‘refreshing’ mug of sour milk drink, which is valued for its probiotic quality. I put ‘refreshing’ in brackets as I used to absolutely hate this dish (and the drink in particular) as a child (which did not mean I was allowed not to eat it…) and because of this negative connotation I was not drawn to buckwheat for a very long time.

Now that I’ve finally put that hated dish behind me, my taste buds must have matured a little and I enjoy having buckwheat quite often actually. Especially in winter as it goes so well with the earthy flavours of mushrooms and beetroots, the sweetness of caramelised leeks and a touch of balsamic vinegar.

This buckwheat and beetroot salad is light, high in protein and low in calories, filling and naturally gluten-free too, so it is perfect if you happen to have made any diet-related New Year’s resolutions 😉 . I know I have…

buckwheat beetroot salad ingredients

buckwheat beetroot salad in a pan

buckwheat beetroot salad sideview

buckwheat beetroot salad macro

serves
4
PREP
15 min
COOKING
40 min
serves
4
PREPARATION
15 min
COOKING
40 min
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups roasted buckwheat (also known as kasha)
  • 3 large beetroots
  • 50 g / 2 oz baby spinach
  • 2-3 large mushrooms (I used portobello ones)
  • ½ leek, white and green part, sliced
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely diced
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/3 tsp coarse sea salt
  • black pepper
  • 2 tbsp hazelnuts, chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • fresh parsley, to serve
METHOD
  1. Heat up the oven to 200° C / 395° F. Peel beetroots and chop them into a large dice.
  2. In a pestle and mortar, make rosemary salt by pounding dry rosemary and sea salt until you get a fine powder.
  3. Place beetroot chunks in a bowl. Coat in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and season with rosemary salt and pepper. Bake for about 40 minutes, until tender.
  4. Carefully check buckwheat for small stones and debris (I advise against rinsing it though as it becomes mushy). Put buckwheat into a small pot with a glass lid and add 3 cups / 720 ml of water, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Do not salt it until it’s been cooked as salt negatively affects buckwheat’s texture. Once the water comes to the boil, turn the heat down to low and cook on a low heat until all the water has been absorbed (to check, tip the pot to see if water is coming out from underneath the buckwheat, but DO NOT LIFT THE LID). Once the water has been fully absorbed, rest the pot for another 10 minutes (with the lid firmly on) so that the buckwheat finishes cooking in its own steam.
  5. Heat up the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add sliced leeks and fry, on a low heat, until almost soft. Add diced garlic and fry until translucent and fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms and fry until cooked. Season with salt and pepper and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Allow it to cook out. Add spinach and allow it to wilt into the salad. Finally add cooked buckwheat. Mix well and adjust the seasoning.
  6. Divide between bowls, top with roasted beetroot chunks, hazelnuts and some fresh parsley.
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NUTRITIONAL INFO
calories
453
23%
sugars
4 g
4%
fats
17 g
24%
saturates
2 g
12%
proteins
14 g
27%
carbs
69 g
26%
*per serving
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5.0
6 reviews, 12 comments
REVIEWS & QUESTIONS
Cindy:
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I made a few changes. I used no oil, added two leeks, extra garlic, added about 6 -8 cups of large kale and collard greens instead of spinach, extra garlic, 6 beets that were already cooked but I warmed with the rosemary salt and balsamic vinegar and a little less Kasha. Served with a side of asparagus made a perfect match. Hope your not offended by my changes. We had it as a main course and truly loved it. I have already picked out several more of your recipes to try 😀. Thanks again for your hard work testing and blogging.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Sounds great, Cindy! I'm glad you and your family enjoyed it although it sounds like I can take little credit :) in this case. And of course I am not offended. x Ania
Lydia:
This sounds lovely, and perfect for work lunches, can this be made in advance and if so how long can it be kept in the fridge for?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Hi Lydia,
    Thank you, and sure it can. It will last 3-4 days in the fridge, for sure. Just a word of advice, trying finding roasted buckwheat groats in an Eastern European (Polish, Russian, German) deli or international section of a supermarket as I found (the hard way) that the UK brands, for example, do not keep their shape as well when cooked with the absorption method, they turn into a horrible mash. Hope this helps! x Ania
Franziska:
Hey,
we had this salad today using freekeh instead of buckwheat and without spinach. It was delicious though spinach would have been the cherry on the cake 😉😂
Since asparagus season is coming up I’ll probably cook it again using buckwheat and adding green asparagus. In general I would change the ratio of grains vs veggies a bit, maybe even doubling the amount of veg or at least the amount of leeks.
Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper! Also the rosemary beetroot on it’s own is something I’ll likely cook again. (tip: I made a slightly larger amount of the salt in my blender since my new mortar and pestle don’t work well 🤨)
Cheers,
Franziska
    Ania
    Ania:
    Glad to hear that, Franziska and thank you for letting me know that you enjoyed it. x Ania
Adriana:
This looks so good! Where is says "serves 4", is that as a main or a side?
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks! I would say 4 as a main, but that depends on your appetite. Ania
Ivana:
Great recipe . Easy to make :)
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Ivana! :)
Ola:
Delicious
Thank You for the recipe 😘
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's great to hear, Ola! Thanks for kind words! Ania
Michaela:
we just had your buckwheat salad now for lunch! very, very tasty, we all loved it.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks, Michaela! So nice to hear! x Ania
joules randall:
Oh my days this is delicious! I used bulgar wheat cooked in vegetable stock and added your roasted chickpeas for your Buddha bowl recipe. Delicious! Thank you for helping me eat better and feel better.
    Ania
    Ania:
    Thanks Joules, that's so lovely to hear! :) Ania
Karlie:
I LOVE buckwheat! This salad sounds amazing.
    Ania
    Ania:
    That's great to hear! Thanks, Karlie!
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