Buckwheat risotto is the best
Who doesn’t love risotto? With it’s nutty texture, creamy richness and delicious flavour, it is a comfort food classic. It is wonderfully practical, as you can make it with a few basic store cupboard ingredients, combined with a wide array of vegetables or seafood. I don’t always feel great after eating risotto though, as I find a bowl of white rice can be quite heavy and lacking in nutrition. For a healthier option, I prefer to use brown rice. This does however take quite a long time to cook. Another wonderful substitute is buckwheat, which is perfect for a slightly unusual, ultra healthy and very tasty risotto. I’d hate to admit this in front of an Italian, but if I had to choose, it would be buckwheat risotto every time.
What is buckwheat?
Despite its name, buckwheat is not a type of wheat, and is in fact a seed, like quinoa and amaranth. These seeds are usually cooked in a similar way to other grains, such as rice, and are therefore often referred to as pseudograins or pseudocereals. Hulled buckwheat, known as groats, is a greenish colour. Roasted buckwheat is dark brown and has a nutty flavour. Buckwheat is often sold in this form, which is known as kasha. Kasha is a very popular staple in Eastern Europe and in particular in Russia.
Buckwheat can also be found in a variety of other processed forms. Buckwheat or soba noodles have been eaten for centuries in Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and China. Today, soba noodles are becoming more and more available in the Western world, as a healthy noodle substitute. Buckwheat flour and flakes are two other popular products. One particularly well-known food made from buckwheat flour, are blinis, the little yeasted Russian pancakes, served with caviar.
Health benefits of buckwheat
So what makes buckwheat so great? Buckwheat is considered a real superfood, as it has a multitude of health benefits. Firstly, buckwheat is low in fat, and the fat it does contain is almost all unsaturated (think the good stuff, such as olive oil). Not only is buckwheat gluten free, it also has a low GI, which assists in the prevention of diabetes. It is packed with soluble fibre, which helps maintain a healthy digestive system and reduces blood cholesterol and the risk of diseases such as colon cancer. It is high in protein and essential amino acids such as lysine and arginine. In addition, it contains good levels of lots of micronutrients, such as B vitamins, manganese, magnesium, iron, zinc and copper.
Buckwheat risotto is deliciously easy to make
To make buckwheat risotto, you pretty much follow the same process as making risotto with rice. I like to go the classic route, and add white wine and finish the risotto off with parmesan cheese. If you want to make the dish alcohol free, simply replace the wine with a little extra stock. Similarly, to make the dish vegan, use olive oil to sweat your onions, and either leave out the parmesan, or use a vegan cheese instead.
Buckwheat Risotto with Mushrooms and Spinach
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Ingredients
- 200g portobellini mushrooms
- 1 ½ tbsp. butter
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 140g buckwheat or kasha
- 100ml white wine
- 500-750ml vegetable stock
- 100g baby spinach, washed and any large stalks removed
- 20g parmesan, grated (plus a little extra to serve)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Wipe any dirt off the mushrooms with some kitchen paper, and slice them thinly. Heat a deep frying pan on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp. butter. Once it has melted, add the mushrooms, 1 clove of crushed garlic and 2 sprigs of thyme. Fry until the mushrooms are cooked and slightly golden. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and then remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the olive oil and remaining ½ tbsp. of butter to the pan. Turn to a low-medium heat, and add the diced onion and remaining 2 sprigs of thyme. Fry gently until the onions are soft and starting to turn golden.
- Add the remaining 1 clove of crushed garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the buckwheat, and toast it for about 1 minute, stirring often.
- Add the white wine and cook until it has reduced and has been completely absorbed by the buckwheat, stirring regularly.
- Add about 125ml (½ a cup) of vegetable stock, and cook until it has been absorbed by the buckwheat, stirring regularly.
- Continue adding ½ cups of stock in this manner, until the buckwheat is cooked. You may not need all the stock. The buckwheat is cooked when it is soft. It will still have some texture, it just shouldn’t be crunchy. Pick out the sprigs of thyme.
- Stir through the baby spinach and parmesan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the spinach has wilted.
- Taste, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Serve with shavings of parmesan and a fresh grind of black pepper.
