Roast vegetable and buckwheat salad with preserved lemon chimichurri

Contrary to its name, buckwheat contains no wheat. It's a delicious, quick-to-cook gluten-free grain with an earthy character, and marries well with robust flavours, like preserved lemon chimichurri. Look for Dutch carrots with a generous bunch of dark green tops as these will be the base of the chimichurri. If the tops have already been snipped, substitute with your favourite herb.

Give veggies a flavour injection with a smear of duck fat. Credit: SBS Food

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 bunch Dutch carrots, green tops reserved, halved lengthways
• 320 g (2 medium) zucchini, cut into 3 cm-thick slices
• 2 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthways
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ preserved lemon, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground fennel salt and black pepper
• 125 g buckwheat (see Note)
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp smoked almonds, halved lengthways

Chimichurri

• ¾ cup picked carrot greens, finely chopped
• ¼ preserved lemon, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200ºC. Place the carrots, zucchini and eggplant in a large bowl. Using the back of a knife, mash the garlic cloves and preserved lemon to a paste. Add the olive oil and fennel and mix until combined. Add the paste to the vegetables, season to taste and toss until well coated. Arrange the vegetables on an oven tray lined with baking paper and transfer to the oven. Roast the zucchini and eggplant for 20 minutes and the carrot for 25 minutes or until golden and tender.

Meanwhile, bring 220 ml of water to a boil in small saucepan. Add the buckwheat and a pinch of salt. Cook, uncovered, for 6–7 minutes until the water has reduced to the surface level of the buckwheat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 8–10 minutes until the buckwheat is tender. Strain if there is any residual water left.

For the chimichurri, combine all the ingredients in a bowl, season to taste and mix until well combined. Add half the chimichurri to the warm buckwheat and toss to coat. Divide the buckwheat between plates and arrange the vegetables on top. Drizzle with the remaining chimichurri and scatter over the almonds.

Note

• Buckwheat is available from health food stores and the health food section of your supermarket. 

Photography by Benito Martin. Food styling by Alice Storey. Prop styling by Lynsey Fryers. Food preparation by Alice Storey and Georgina Larby.

Palms wallpaper from Signature Prints.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.