Buckwheat Spinach and Squash Risotto

Forever on the for new and interesting ways to cook, I thought I'd take on the humble and see what kind of new tastes and ideas I could spin. Obviously, the most radical way to change this is the grain. In this recipe I substituted aborio rice, for buckwheat. Buckwheat doesn't give as much starch as rice, so a bit of cream came in hand.

Ingredients

250g Buckwheat

300g Spinach

1 Bunch Italian Parsley (not just a few stalks.) Leaves removed, stalks finely chopped.

1 Teaspoon of Matcha Powder

1 Squash, peeled and diced

1 Head of Purple Cauliflower, sectioned

100ml Cream

2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano

1 Big Bunch of Fresh Basil, shredded

3 Onions

5 Cloves of Garlic

Juice of 1 Lemon

Zest of 1 Lemon

Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon of Butter

Salt

Pepper

Parmesan Cheese (Optional)

Method

This is cooked exactly like a normal risotto, so it's pretty bloody basic, but with the change in grain, we've got a different texture, a different flavour.

Preheat the oven to 180 C. Toss the squash in olive oil and move to a roasting tray. Dust with salt and put the tray in the oven.

Finely dice your onions, mince the garlic. Gently fry the two in olive oil and the butter until translucent. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, oregano, thyme and parsley stalks. Keep cooking until the parsley stalks are soft.

Add the buckwheat to the mixture, and like you would with a risotto, gently saute the buckwheat.

In a blender, blend spinach, half the parsley leaves and the matcha powder - slowly add water until it's a watery, loose stock (about a litre and a half). Transfer to a pot and gently warm.

Add the stock to the buckwheat one ladle at a time. Cook down each ladle then add another. Keep going until the buckwheat inflates and is tender. It should be bright green. If you're short on stock, use a bit more water until tender.

Check the squash. If it's tender, it's good!

Boil a jug of water. Blanch the cauliflower.

Add cream and basil to the buckwheat risotto. Stir through and cook a bit more until the sauce thickens a bit. Salt really well. Stir it through and taste until it tastes right. Pepper it too.

Stir through the cauliflower, squash and remaining parsley leaves.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon.

Enjoy!