Southwestern-Style Buckwheat Polenta Stacks
Buckwheat fascinates me. Even though it has “wheat” in its name, it’s actually not a grain at all. It’s related to rhubarb and is safe for those who are avoiding gluten. It also happens to be a good source of tryptophan, so you might just find that you sleep like a baby after this nutritious meal! Buckwheat has a characteristically strong flavor, but I think it works nicely with the spicy bean mixture in this recipe. It also makes a great alternative to corn polenta, which takes much longer to cook and requires a lot of stirring. You can get creative with the bean mixture: I love to add roasted red peppers.
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup toasted buckwheat groats
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 15-ounce can pinto beans with liquid
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups chopped spinach
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil.
- Add the groats and salt, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the groats to a food processor and blend.
- Texture will be somewhat rough and thick, like polenta.
- Allow the mixture to cool slightly for a couple minutes.
- Take a small handful of the buckwheat mixture—the size of a large meatball—roll it, and then flatten onto a baking pan.
- Press each disk to a ¼-inch thickness.
- Repeat until you have used all of the buckwheat mixture.
- Drizzle the oil in a large skillet, add the onion, and stir until well coated.
- Place the skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion until translucent.
- Add the beans, maple syrup, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, paprika, and cayenne.
- Stir well and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Use potato masher or fork to smash some of the beans, allowing some to remain whole.
- The mixture should be the consistency of chunky refried beans.
- Place a small handfulof spinach on a buckwheat cake.
- Scoop a generous amount of the bean mixtureover the spinach.
- Top with avocado slices.
- Repeat with the rest of thebuckwheat cakes.
Notes / Tips / Wine Advice:
For a crispy cake, before stacking, place the buckwheat rounds under the broiler for 3 minutes on each side.