Roast Vegetable & Buckwheat Salad
My roast vegetable and buckwheat salad is a heartier alternative to your typical Summer salad.
With a hint of Christmas glow from the vegetables and buckwheat contrast, it's also a great seasonal party dish!
Your guests won't feel physically weighed down after eating it either. Because despite its name, buckwheat is a gluten-free superfood and it doesn't contain wheat.
The other wonderful thing about this roast vegetable and buckwheat salad, is that you can add more or less any protein to the ingredient list to make it a complete meal. Chickpeas, feta cheese, eggs, salmon, chicken.. all work well.
In December healthy versatile meals that don't take forever to prepare are must-have staples, when too much eating, drinking and partying can equal unhealthy excesses.
INGREDIENTS:
2 handfuls baby carrots (washed) or 3 large carrots (peeled if non-organic and chopped into slices)
1 red pepper (washed and cut into slices)
1 red onion (peeled and chopped into chunks)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 garlic clove (finely sliced)
2 fine slices ginger (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 lemon (juiced)
1 teaspoon cumin
200g raw buckwheat
40g rocket leaves
1 cup fresh coriander
1 cup fresh basil
45g flaked almonds (topping)
RECIPE:
- Preheat oven to 200c / 180c (fan)
- Place some baking paper in the bottom of a roasting tin and put the chopped veggies on top
- Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 15 minutes
- Meanwhile mix the cumin, ginger, garlic and honey together in a bowl to use as a dressing
- Pour this dressing over the part-roasted veggies and then place them back in the oven to roast for a further 20 minutes
- In a non-stick frying pan, cook the buckwheat for a few minutes stirring until the grain is slightly toasted.
- Next add the buckwheat to a saucepan of hot water. Bring it to the boil, reduce it to a medium-low heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until it is slightly soft.
- Drain and refresh the buckwheat under cold water and put it in a serving bowl with the roast veggies, rocket and herbs
- Mix the apple cider vinegar and remaining oil together before pouring it over the main dish
- Combine everything with serving spoons and sprinkle the top with flaked almonds to serve
Top Tip: Use a high quality non-stick frying pan. I bought mine from Waitrose and it's excellent.
Meet Nicola
Hello, I'm a Holistic Nutritionist, Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner, Breathwork Instructor and Pain & Stress Management Therapist with heaps of experience of helping others tweak and transform their health and life.
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