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Posts Tagged buckwheat

Brussels Sprout Soba Salad with Fish Sauce and Mint

I’ll just come right out and say it: This is a David Chang recipe.

Really, all I did was take his genius recipe and fiddle with it a bit. I made the sprouts and the sauce, mostly to his specifications. Then, I made some buckwheat soba noodles according to the package directions. Lastly, I tossed the soba noodles with the sprouts and sauce. It wasn’t rocket science, but it did make for a quick and tasty dinner.

Since I didn’t deviate much from the original recipe, there’s no point in posting it here. If you want to know how to make David Chang’s amazing Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce and Mint, just head on over to Food & Wine Magazine. However, I will leave you with a few notes on my adaptation of the recipe.

brussels sprout soba salad with fish sauce and mint | rosemarried.com

If you plan on making this Brussels sprout soba salad, here are a few notes:

*First off, this recipe translates nicely into a cold soba salad. In addition to making Chang’s sprouts, you just need to cook up a few buckwheat soba noodles (according to package directions) and toss the sauced sprouts with the noodles. I let the noodles and sprouts cool a bit, and ate the salad at room temp. However, the cold leftovers the next day were even better.

*I found Chang’s recipe to be a litttttttle too fish saucy for my tastes, so I dialed back the fish sauce just a bit and upped the lime juice. I also added thinly sliced green onions to the salad, for kicks.

*The spicy rice crispies are awesome. Don’t skip this step. Make them. Just don’t toss them in/on the salad until you’re ready to serve or they’ll get soggy.

*I didn’t have a red chile on hand, so I substituted a jalapeño  from my garden. This was a great idea in theory, but that particular jalapeño was face-meltingly spicy. Thankfully, I didn’t put the whole darn pepper in the sauce (otherwise, it would have been completely inedible).

*The recipe on Food & Wine calls for ‘boiled’ Brussels sprouts, but doesn’t specify any boiling instructions. In my opinion, you really don’t want soggy/overcooked Brussels sprouts! I just blanched mine in boiling water for 2 minutes, then doused the sprouts in an ice bath. This just softens the sprouts and gets them ready for a good charring in the skillet!

And, that’s all I gotta say about this Brussels Sprout Soba Salad! It’s a spicy and simple weeknight meal, full of interesting and unique flavors. Bonus: it tastes even better the next day. Do it!

 

Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins

I recently received a copy of Erin Scott’s new cookbook,  “Yummy Supper: 100 Fresh, Luscious & Honest Recipes from a {Gluten-Free} Omnivore“. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant about the book at first glance. For starters, I love gluten. I have no known gluten allergies or intolerances (pizza is my favorite food group!), thus, I have no need for a gluten-free cookbook. Secondly, the word “yummy” just bugs me. It conjures up images of Rachael Ray and overly perky Food Network hosts, and I just don’t like it.

So, then, when I finally opened the book, I was pleasantly surprised. The book is brimming with beautiful photographs and creative recipes. And while the book is written from a gluten-free perspective, it certainly has recipes that appeal to all types of diets.

buckwheat zucchini muffins | rosemarried.com

 

While there were a lot of standouts in the book – such as Black Rice Pudding, Savory Custards with Wild Nettles, Mussels with Rosé, Leeks, and Mustard – but I decided to start with her simple and lovely recipe for Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins.

The recipe stood out to me, as it’s such a unique twist on a typical zucchini muffin. Made with buckwheat flour, coconut oil, honey, and molasses, these muffins pack a flavorful punch. They’re a great way to use up extra zucchini, and they are officially my new favorite summer snack.

Yummy Supper’s version of the recipe uses a combination of oat flour and buckwheat flour, and is gluten free. I didn’t have any oat flour on hand, so I substituted all purpose flour. Thus, my version of this recipe contains gluten. However, the recipe is easily adaptable depending on your dietary restrictions!

buckwheat zucchini muffins | rosemarried.com

 

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Buckwheat Zucchini Muffins

Serving Size: Makes 1 dozen muffins

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup buckwheat flour
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour (Can sub oat flour if GF)
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup honey
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 2 heaping tablespoons molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cups shredded zucchini, strained or patted dry with a towel
  • Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts

Instructions

  1. First, combine the honey and coconut oil in a small pot. Heat over medium-low heat until oil and honey are melted. Stir to combine and set aside to cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups.
  3. In a small bowl, mix together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs together with the honey and coconut oil mixture. Whisk in molasses and vanilla. With a spatula, stir in the dry ingredients until combined. Fold in the zucchini (and nuts, if using).
  5. Pour your batter into the lined muffin cups. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

http://rosemarried.co/2014/09/05/buckwheat-zucchini-muffins/

Soba Noodle Salad with Miso Chard Pesto and Honey Roasted Carrots

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen last week, prepping and preserving in anticipation for the PDX Food Swap. Truth be told, I haven’t been spending a ton of time in the kitchen as of late. Life has been busy and chaotic and I just haven’t had a lot of time or energy for creative kitchen projects. But, the PDX Food swap was looming in the distance and I just couldn’t stomach the idea of going to the swap empty-handed.

So, I carved out some time in my week and forced myself to get into the kitchen. Over the course of a couple days, I cooked and created and canned and preserved. I made a giant mess of my kitchen, but it was totally worth it.

I felt accomplished and inspired…and strangely relaxed. Cooking has that effect on me, I suppose.

roasted rainbow carrots

Of all the things I cooked this past week, I think this soba salad is my favorite. The chard and miso pesto is earthy and savory, dark and uniquely delicious. (Truthfully, it isn’t really a pesto at all. I just wasn’t sure what else to call it.) The savory pesto paired beautifully with the natural sweetness of the roasted carrots, and let me tell you, it made for a damn good soba noodle salad.

(Also: I begrudgingly brought a couple of jars of the chard and miso ‘pesto’ to the PDX Food Swap, but I selfishly wanted to keep it all to myself. It’s too good.)

Soba Salad with Swiss Chard and Miso Pesto

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Soba Salad with Miso Chard Pesto and Honey Roasted Carrots

Serving Size: 3 as an entree, 6 as a side

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch swiss chard
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1/4 cup red miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 package soba noodles
  • 1 bunch rainbow carrots (or 5-6 regular carrots)
  • 1.5 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
  • Green onions, ends trimmed and sliced thinly (for garnish)

Instructions

  1. Roast the carrots (can be done ahead of time): Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and trim carrots (do not peel). If your carrots are very thin/small, you may leave them whole. If the carrots are thick, slice in half (or quarters) lengthwise. Pat the carrots dry and place in a bowl. Toss with sesame oil, honey, red chili flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Lay the carrots in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until browned and fork tender. When cooked to your liking, remove from the oven and set aside until use.
  2. Place a large pot of salted water on the stove over high heat. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, wash the chard and trim off the stems. Set stems aside. Roughly chop the chard leaves. When the water is boiling, add the chard leaves into the water and stir to combine. Blanch chard in the water for 2-3 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove chard and transfer to a bowl. Reserve the pot water.
  3. Using a food processor (or blender), blend the blanched chard, garlic, miso paste, and rice vinegar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally, and blend until a smooth paste forms. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Taste, and adjust seasonings if needed.
  4. Bring the pot of reserved blanching water to a boil. Cook the soba noodles in the water, according to package directions. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
  5. In a large bowl, toss the soba noodles with the chard pesto. Add a few teaspoons of the pesto at a time, until the noodles are evenly coated. (Extra pesto can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge) Taste, and season with salt, pepper, or red chili flakes as needed. Serve at room temperature and garnish with roasted carrots and sliced green onions.
  6. Note: I adapted this recipe from Chow, and they chose to sauté the chard stems in oil before tossing them in the soba salad. I chose to go another route with the stems, and quick-pickled them in a mixture of rice vinegar, salt, and sugar. I was pretty pleased with my pickled chard stems, and thought they made a crunchy, bright, and briny addition to the salad.

http://rosemarried.co/2014/01/28/soba-noodle-salad-miso-chard-pesto-honey-roasted-carrots/

Buckwheat Soba Salad with Snow Peas and Radishes

Did you know that the word ‘soba’ is the Japanese name for ‘buckwheat’?

And did you know that buckwheat isn’t really wheat at all?

In fact, buckwheat comes from an entirely different botanical family. Buckwheat is actually in the same family as sorrel, knotweed, and rhubarb.

You learn something new everyday! I think this information is amazing. Who knew that buckwheat was related to rhubarb?! (I certainly did not!)

As for the recipe? It’s light, it’s seasonal, and it’s perfect for picnics, BBQ’s, and weeknight dinners in the backyard.

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Buckwheat Soba Salad with Snow Peas and Radishes

Ingredients

  • 1 package of buckwheat soba noodles
  • 1 cup fresh snow peas
  • 4 green onions, diced
  • 6-8 radishes, sliced thinly
  • Sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1.5 tablespoons Ponzu (or lemon/lime juice)
  • 1.5 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon agave syrup (or brown sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar

Instructions

  1. Cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Once cooked, rinse with cold water and chill until use.
  2. Mix together soy sauce, ponzu (or citrus), sesame oil, agave, and rice vinegar. Taste, and adjust seasonings as needed. (I personally like a lot of citrus, so I used ponzu and lime juice.)
  3. Toss together the noodles, snow peas, sliced radishes, and green onions. Drizzle the soy dressing over the salad, and toss to coat. Be careful not over-do it on the sauce (this salad’s beauty is in it’s lightness and simplicity). Garnish with sesame seeds. Serve chilled.

http://rosemarried.co/2013/06/13/buckwheat-soba-salad-with-snow-peas-and-radishes/