Ingredients
| 1 cup (180g) whole raw buckwheat | |
| ½ shallot or small red onion, finely sliced | |
| juice of 1 lemon | |
| ½ teaspoon fine sea salt | |
| 1 telegraph cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped out with a spoon, then sliced thinly | |
| 1 tablespoon capers in brine, drained and roughly chopped | |
| 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil | |
| 1 cup packed mint leaves, roughly chopped | |
| 1 cup packed flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped | |
| FOR THE WHIPPED FENNEL FETA | |
| 200g feta, crumbled | |
| ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan then roughly ground | |
| ½ cup plain unsweetened yoghurt |
Although buckwheat is not an overly common ingredient in Greek food, it acts as the perfect high-protein base for this lemon and herb-kissed salad. You’ll find whole raw buckwheat at selected supermarkets or health-food stores.
For salads like this, where you don’t want excess moisture, I like to scrape the seeds from the cucumber using a teaspoon first. It might seem pedantic but it’s well worth the extra few minutes of prep, and I simply eat the scraped seeds as a little pre-meal snack, so there’s no food waste either.
Instructions
| 1. | To cook the buckwheat, bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the buckwheat and cook for 10-12 minutes or until tender (it will still have some bite). |
| 2. | Drain well and set aside to cool. |
| 3. | Combine the sliced shallot/red onion, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl. |
| 4. | Mix well, then set aside. |
| 5. | To make the whipped fennel feta, pulse the ingredients in a small food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides once or twice to assist blending. |
| 6. | To serve, combine the cooled buckwheat, pickled shallots/ red onion and any pickling juices, cucumber, capers, olive oil, mint and flat-leafed parsley in a bowl. |
| 7. | Mix well, then season with salt and pepper (keeping in mind the whipped feta is salty). |
| 8. | Spread a couple of tablespoons of whipped fennel feta onto four plates, then top with a generous scoop of salad. |
| 9. | The whipped fennel feta and pickled shallots/red onion can be prepared up to a day in advance and stored in the fridge, however the salad is best made and eaten on the same day. |
Recipes, food styling & dish photography Emma Galloway
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