Spring Buckwheat Risotto

Serves: 4 adults
Prep time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Gluten free & grain free

This is the best recipe for this time of the year when we crave spring foods but the weather isn’t warm enough for cold and raw meals. This is like spring in a bowl and so nutrient-dense!

It’s made with freshly foraged nettles and wild garlic - which are abundant in the British countryside and woodlands at the moment - as well as seasonal purple sprouting broccoli and other seasonal vegetables from the farm.

It has lots of healthy fats, it’s packed with minerals and vitamins from the broth, the nettles and buckwheat. Despite its confusing name, buckwheat isn’t a grain, it’s not even related to wheat, it’s actually an ancient seed from a plant close to sorrel and rhubarb. It’s gluten free, low glycemic, high in protein and packed with antioxidants and minerals like manganese, copper, magnesium and phosphorus.

At My Little Farm, we love planting buckwheat as a cover crop to naturally improve soil health. It fixes nitrogen in the soil, attracts beneficial insects and pollinators, helps control weeds and increase overall fertility of the soil.

Ingredients:

300g buckwheat
1 small carrot, cubed
1 leek
50g celeriac, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 litre of veg or chicken bone broth
Dash of cream (preferably raw and grass-fed)
Extra virgin olive oil
Butter (preferably raw and grass-fed)
8 stems of purple sprouting broccoli
8 young nettle tops
A small handful of wild garlic leaves
Grated raw hard cheese (like parmesan)

Method:

Dice the onion, leek, carrot, and celeriac.
Wash the nettles and wild garlic. Roughly chop the wild garlic.
Heat up some olive oil in a large pan. Fry the diced onion until its glazed.
Bring the veg or chicken stock to a boil, blanch the purple sprouting broccoli stems and keep them for later.
Add the other diced veg to the onion and fry together until slightly coloured. Add the buckwheat, stir everything till it's well mixed, add one third of the vegetable stock and stir while it starts bubbling.
Keep adding the stock bit by bit until it is all absorbed, add the freshly picked nettle and wild garlic, add the cream and season the risotto with salt and pepper.
Add some butter to create a creamy consistency, add the blanched broccoli and serve with grated cheese on top.