Buckwheat with Vegetables
Buckwheat with vegetables is a simple and tasty dish and a good breakfast that cooks very quickly. It is somewhat like pilaf made with buckwheat groats: fluffy and spicy. If you like, make it with whatever vegetables are in season or use ready-made frozen mixes. Serve it as a main dish or as a side dish, it’s up to you.
Buckwheat was once in quite short supply, but it has long been an ordinary and inexpensive food. The most popular here are whole roasted buckwheat “kernels”, light brown in color, also called yadrytsia. Cracked buckwheat is used less often. Buckwheat is cooked into porridges, side dishes and soups, added to the meat mixture for meatballs and used in sausage fillings. In China a drink made from steeped buckwheat is popular. By the way, it is healthy and tasty, though a little unusual.
Cooked buckwheat is considered a dietary food, ideal for a healthy lifestyle and all kinds of diets, and recommended for some medical conditions. Buckwheat flour contains no gluten, which makes it somewhat harder to bake with. But being gluten-free also makes it very popular. Keep in mind that it is quite high in calories and easily digested.
Buckwheat with vegetables is very well suited to healthy and vegetarian eating. It can be cooked in different ways. Most people simply boil the groats until done and mix them with fried, steamed or boiled vegetables. For quick cooking, there are groats sold in boil-in-bag pouches, which act as the cooking container. This is convenient and easy. If you like, after mixing you can briefly fry the dish in a pan, which improves the flavor. I have already shared the basic recipe for cooking buckwheat .
Buckwheat groats should be roasted, light brown and free of any burnt smell. Also pay attention to how clean the sorting and roasting is. Over-roasted kernels and foreign impurities point to a poor-quality product.
Like most grains, buckwheat cooks well by absorbing the liquid it is cooked in. The same technique is used for pilaf, risotto and porridge. As a rule, an additional component such as meat, fish, vegetables or fruit is fried or prepared first. Then the buckwheat is added. After a short frying, broth or water is added. The dish is not so much boiled as stewed over low heat under a lid. As the groats absorb the liquid, they soften and dry out, which guarantees a fluffy result.
Buckwheat with fried vegetables is a simple and tasty dish for breakfast, or a side dish.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Buckwheat 1 cup
(170 g) - Carrot 1
- Onion 1
- Bell pepper 1
- Chili pepper 0.5-1 pc
- Celery root 1 piece
- Garlic (optional) 1 head
- Water or broth (chicken or vegetable) 2 cups
(400 ml) - Butter for frying
- Salt, black pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs for serving
Step-by-step recipe
Preparation
If the buckwheat is of very good quality, there is no need to rinse it. It is completely ready to cook.
Peel the vegetables. In season, it is worth using unpeeled cloves of young garlic. But that is optional. With them the buckwheat gets a delicate, barely noticeable aroma, and the soft cloves in their skins are a treat of their own. Naturally, if you have to go to work, better skip the garlic.
Frying the vegetables
Cut the onion into strips.
Melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the onion in it until soft.
Cut the carrot and celery root into small cubes or strips. Add them to the fried onion. Add the garlic cloves too, if you decided to use them.
Stir occasionally and fry the vegetables over medium heat. Do not cover the pan with a lid.
Peel the sweet and hot peppers. Chop the chili finely and add it to the vegetables.
The sweet pepper can be cut into large cubes. It is juicy and may burn as it loses moisture. Add the pepper to the vegetables and keep frying. Gradually the vegetables will start to lose liquid and brown. How far to fry them is entirely up to you.
Stewing the buckwheat
Add the dry buckwheat, stir and fry for 2-3 mins.
Pour in the liquid. If you can, use ready-made broth, chicken or vegetable, and the buckwheat with vegetables will be even tastier. If that is difficult, plain hot water from the kettle will do.
Add salt and pepper to taste. If you use broth, it may already contain salt and spices, so take that into account.
As soon as the liquid boils, cover the pan with a lid and turn the heat down to minimum. Buckwheat cooks for 15-20 mins, absorbing all the liquid you added. Stir occasionally and cook the groats and vegetables under the lid until all the moisture is absorbed.
Then stir everything and pile it into a mound. Cover the pan with the lid and keep the heat at minimum. The buckwheat with vegetables needs to steam.
During steaming the buckwheat kernels “open up” and dry out. This makes them fluffy.
Serving
Serve the dish on its own or as a side dish. It should be hot, and it is better not to reheat it. Since it is cooked simply and quickly, make it for one sitting.
When serving, you can sprinkle the dish with herbs and add more pepper.
Instead of salt, you can add 1 tbsp of soy sauce. It is salty enough and gives the buckwheat a dark color. If you have parsnip or celery stalks, they work great here. If you want the dish to be fully vegetarian, replace the butter with vegetable oil and do not use chicken broth.
Calories and macros
500 kcal
Serving ≈ 420 g
- Protein13 g11% of kcal
- Fat15 g28% of kcal
- Carbs73 g61% of kcal
100 g120 kcalProtein 3.2 gFat 3.6 gCarbs 17.5 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.
To Get It Right
How much liquid
The same as for ordinary buckwheat: 2 cups of water (400 ml) or broth per 1 cup of groats. The vegetables will not release much liquid.
With frozen vegetables
You can use a ready-made frozen mix instead of fresh vegetables. There is no need to thaw it: put it in the pan with the butter and fry without a lid until the excess water evaporates, then add the buckwheat.
What else to add
Any seasonal vegetables will do: zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, green beans, mushrooms. Cut juicy vegetables larger so they do not turn into puree.
With chicken or meat
Fry the meat first: brown pieces of chicken fillet or pork in butter, then add the onion and the other vegetables and continue as in the recipe. You will need the same amount of liquid.
Have your own trick for this recipe?
Pull chopper for garlic and onionAliExpress
Oil sprayerAliExpress
Kitchen scale up to 5 kgAliExpress
Vegetable chopper with handleAliExpress
Measuring cups and spoonsAliExpress
Peeler with wooden handleAliExpressQuestions and answers
How do I make buckwheat with vegetables really tasty?
Do it like pilaf: first fry the vegetables until browned, then fry the dry groats with them for 2-3 minutes, and only then pour in the broth. The buckwheat absorbs the liquid along with the flavor of the vegetables and turns out fluffy.
Can I make buckwheat with vegetables in a saucepan?
Yes, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, the same way as in a frying pan: fry the vegetables and groats, add the liquid and simmer under a lid over low heat.
How many calories are in buckwheat with vegetables?
About 100 kcal per 100 g. To make the dish lighter and fully vegan, fry in vegetable oil and use water or vegetable broth.
What should I serve buckwheat with vegetables with?
It is a dish in its own right and makes a good breakfast or light dinner. As a side dish, buckwheat with vegetables goes well with fried chicken, cutlets and fish.