Buckwheat Vegetable Bowl

Adapted from Amy Chaplin

Originally called “Buckwheat veggie breakfast bowl”, this recipe would make a good savory breakfast, but works for any meal.

If you can’t find buckwheat (a neat gluten-free grain that's a source of complete protein!) you can substitute in brown or white rice, similar to jook/congee.

1 cup raw buckwheat, soaked overnight in plenty of filtered water
2 inch piece kombu
1 cup daikon, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
½ cup carrot, cut into ½ inch dice
1 cup cabbage cut into ¾ inch dice
1 onion, diced, or one leek
1 to 3 teaspoons fresh peeled and finely grated ginger
1 to 3 teaspoons fresh peeled and finely grated turmeric, or ¼ to 1 teaspoon dried, adjusted to taste
1 large pinch sea salt
2 cups filtered water
2 cups tender greens (mizuna, arugula, spinach, bok choi)
To serve: toasted sesame and sunflower seeds, finely sliced scallions, chopped parsley, cold pressed flax oil or sesame oil, tamari

Drain and rinse buckwheat until it’s no longer slimy, this takes a minute or two. Place in a small-medium pot and add all the ingredients except spinach. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until the vegetables have cooked through and water is absorbed. If it still needs more time continue cooking for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat, fish out the kombu and compost it. Add greens, recover the pot and set aside for 5 minutes then gently stir leaves through. Serve topped with toasted seeds, scallions, parsley, tamari and flax oil. Any leftover can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.