Buckwheat “Garden” Salad
I’ve really been loving on buckwheat lately.
Seriously, I’ve been having it several times a week for the past 3 weeks.
I know, that’s so typical of me. It seems like I always have to get seriously obsessed with a certain ingredient for a while, then I eventually get tired of it and move on to something else.
Yep. This happens to me, like, constantly.
Remember how I did everything “orange” not so long ago?
And how I just threw smoothie after smoothie at you right before that?
Well, it looks like my flame of the moment would be buckwheat, so please, bear with me while I go through this little love affair.
Hey, at least buckwheat comes in two forms: flour AND groats. And I’ve been loving equally on both of them. Plus, I do savory AND sweets. So at least, you get a little bit of variety… 😉
I promise it’ll end soon. It always does.
Mind you, if I’m not going to be doing grains for an extended period of time, there is a very good chance that buckwheat will become my replacement of choice.
I don’t know about you, but I happen to really LOVE its earthy, almost dusty flavor.
It sort of reminds me of my dad.
Do you also tend to associate certain flavors or odors with people or events?
Do they bring back memories?
They do for me, all the time. Food is a very powerful and very emotional experience for me. Usually one of the agreeable kind!
This salad right here sure was an agreeable experience. It was my first time eating buckwheat cold like that, in a savory salad.
It certainly wasn’t the last. In fact, I made another version just a few days later, one that included a whole bunch of dried fruits and goat cheese… so you can expect another buckwheat salad recipe soon!
I’m telling you, cold buckwheat groats are awesome. In fact, buckwheat groats are awesome period. It seems like they work well with just about everything and anything.
They make great warm cereal, they are incredible baked with spinach and eggs, they are superb in salads such as this one here, you can add them to overnight oats or granola…
Seriously, if you haven’t tried them yet, you definitely have to!
Start with this super fresh and simple salad, why not?
Buckwheat "Garden" Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup buckwheat groats
- 2 cups water
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ chayotte, finely diced
- 12 large green olives, pitted and quartered
- 1 small yellow bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup broccoli florets, chopped
- ¼ cup red onion, finely chopped
- 50 g walnut, chopped
- ½ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 2 tbs fresh mint, chopped
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Add buckwheat groats, reduce heat, cover and cook until all water has absorbed, about 10 minutes.
- Remove lid and allow to cool for at least 30 minutes. You can also cook your buckwheat groats the previous day and let them cool overnight.
- Add all ingredients, including cooled buckwheat to a large mixing bowl. Mix until well combined.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours (or overnight) to allow for flavors to develop.
Notes
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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37 Comments on “Buckwheat “Garden” Salad”
Your bowl of buckwheat comfort looks so good! I have only had buckwheat once that way, but I think I might have to go pick some up now 🙂 and I totally know what you are talking about when you get obsessed with certain foods and ingredients. I find myself eating the same thing for a month at a time, right now my obsession is chia seeds and zucchini-(not together lol)
Awww, thanks for making me feel better, Heather. I say you definitely should pick up some groats, I feel that obsession is not even close to wanting to subside… Ever tried making it into a pudding? Oh yeah! I feel this “urge” coming. 😉
This recipe sounds great, Sonia! I’m trying to avoid grains lately so I love to try out different recipes with buckwheat. And you know what, you’re not the only one going through periods of loving a certain ingredient 😉
Well, you are in luck Sarah, as I have decided to try and stay away from grainsas much as possible, especially gluten, for another 6 months. This means that I will be posting many more grain free recipes! Can’t go that long without baking, no way! 🙂
haha I love that you apologize for your affair. I go through those, too. Right now it’s Indian food. I can’t stop eating it?!
Yeah, I kind of noticed that! But with reason, in your case!! Having just returned from a trip to India is reason enough to be loving on Indian EVERYTING! Did you happen to like Indian food before you went or did you develop that taste during your adventure there? I’m asking because I never really cared much for Indian flavors and would really love to grow into liking them…
I like cumin… guess that’s a start! Maybe I should try some of your recipes, that could surely help! 🙂
Yum! That salad looks delicious and what a fun way to mix it up from the usual. I have bough buckwheat groats and ground them into flour for bakes before but never cooked them whole. Next time I get them, I’ll definitely try this recipe!
You have a Versatile Blogger Award : ).
http://www.auntietreats.com/2012/04/versatile-blogger-award.html
By the way, this salad looks delish!
Thank you Amanda! I am really flattered! And glad you like the salad, too! 🙂
Ha, great minds think alike. I just posted a buckwheat salad too 🙂
Sonia, I love love love the new look of your site. That cartoon picture of you is brilliant, and also the cherries in “Foodie”. I love the colors and the ragged-looking dotty background. So much detail, well done!!!
You just posted that? How come I haven’t seen it? I need to head out to your site right away to check it out. Can’t get too much buckwheat inspiration now, can I? Wait… maybe I can! 😉 Still, I HAVE to check it out!
Thank you so much for your nice comments on my site. I was looking forward to getting your feedback! So happy you like it. Thanks!!!! 😀
Twins again!!!! We are both on a buckwheat kick these days. 🙂 LOVE it! I’m the same way in that I obsess over one ingredient/food/cuisine at a time and then find something else to replace it!
Yummmmmmy salad! I would love to eat this for lunch tomorrow!
Ps I’m still super excited when I see ur new site- amazing!
NO WAY!!! So you too have been going through pounds of groats and flour? You should share more of your buckwheat recipes, that way I could make this obsession last longer. Between your inspiration and mine, I could probably be eating buckwheat every day for the next six months… 😉 Now that just totally reminded me of that gorgeous pudding you posted a couple of weeks back. How could I forget about that one? It looks sooooo decadent. Been having too much on my plate, lately, I guess… But this time, I won’t forget. I am totally eating this within the next week.
And ps… thank you so much for being so excited about my new site. There are still a few things here and there that need tweaking, but I’m so much happier with this new look. To be honest, I hated my old site. So much so, I wouldn’t even tell people about it ‘cuz I thought it was so ugly. This is a major relief, and I am real happy that you like it! 🙂
This is my kind of salad!
OK, what’s your secret? I tried to make this salad, which looks so yummy and delicious. But when I cooked my buckwheat groats, it was so mushy instead of being separate grains (like yours). It was kind of like adding oatmeat to my salad.
What brand did you use?
Thanks so much.
Oof, it has been a long time since I last made buckwheat groats, but I think the secret is, much as with rice, you can’t open that lid or stir the grains while they are cooking. Just dump them in the boiling water, lower the heat then let them cook for the prescribed amount of time or until all water is gone (a see-through lid really helps here). Once the grains are cooked, you need to let them rest and cool a bit before you even touch them. Then you want to fluff them lightly with a fork.
And if you find you consistently get mushy groats, maybe decrease the amount of water a little bit…
Hope this helps!
Thank you for a recipe! I tried it today and even my 2yr old son liked it! =) It never came to my mind to use buckwheat in salads, but it’s a very interesting idea. I just boiled broccoli, never eat it raw.
Thanks for sharing this recipe w / us!!!
I added more ingredients that I needed to use before going bad. They were: Apples, Eggplant & Black Beans. I substituted Red for the Yellow Peppers the topped it off w / Avocado & an Egg! #mmm
Made this for the first time tonight- it won’t be the last, so tasty! It was also our first time having chayote, I’ll be using the other half in your fruit & goat cheese salad later this week. Overall I’m a big fan of this salad, I left out the mint, since I couldn’t find any at the store or in my yard, and used dry dill- still amazing. I also combined what I consider the vinaigrette ingredients separately- the onion, herbs, acids, and oil- I feel like that helps tame the raw onion and freshen up the dry herbs. I’m so glad I found your site, thanks for the recipes!
And I am glad you found me, Brenda. I hope you find many more recipes that inspire you. I’m real happy to hear that this one was to your liking! Love your idea of adding the chayote to the fruit and goat cheese salad. It HAS to be good! Let me know how it was! 🙂
Looks Delicious & Healthy ! Thanks For Sharing with us. “:)
Terrific–just what I needed for a box of kasha I found. I have loved buckwheat since I made banana blueberry buckwheat pancakes and we all LOVED them. The salad is my first buckwheat groats one, but I do similar things with quinoa. I could eat quinoa for 3 meals a day, but I really need to mix it up with buckwheat too! Thanks for a great salad.
You are very welcome, Mary! Glad the salad was to your liking!
Nice one – first time ever trying buckwheat and the recipe was great! Thanks 🙂
Happy to hear, Michelle! And thanks for letting me know, too! I greatly appreciate that! 🙂
Any replacement for chayotte in the salad? Im in india and its not available here
Nothing will work exactly the same, but you could use green apples or celery, they would be acceptable replacements.
This salad is going into my favourites box. Love it. Very nice without the walnuts and chayotte too.
Real happy to hear, Michelle! Thanks a bunch for the awesome feedback, I greatly appreciate it!
I love cooking with grains and will often make farro salads similar to this one. Can I substitute buckwheat grouts for farro in some of my salads?
I really wouldn’t see why not!
This is such a great recipe! Thanks! I love buckwheat but sometimes the recipes can be a bit bland. Not this one! I hope that you don’t mind that I added it to one of my blog posts. It’s a 2-day detox challenge and I thought that your recipe was perfect for it! You can see it here: https://omdetox.com/weekend-detox-challenge/
That’s perfectly fine, Dominique! Thanks for sharing the love! 🙂
Hi I’m so glad I found your website! I’m looking forward to try a lot of your recipes; a quick question are groats and buckinis the same thing??? Thank you, Gwyn
From what I understand, buckinis are buckwheat groats that have been soaked, washed and rinsed, then dehydrated at low temperatures to allow for easier digestion and absorption of nutrients. So yeah, kind of the same, but different! 😉
this is super!