skip to main |
skip to sidebar
I have such fond memories of buckwheat rissoles. They were an established tradition in our family home - up there with fruitcake and lamb chops. Strangely enough I've never attempted to make them, which given how much I like to eat them is a bit confounding. The only explanation I can offer up is that buckwheat is not an ingredient you buy from your average grocery store (you should be able to find them in a natural or health store). Also it looked very complicated as a little girl when I used to watch my older sister, Michelle, and my mother make them together. So it was with delight that I found some buckwheat at the Healthy Options store, and decided it was now or never.
Buckwheat is what they call a psuedocereal - that is, it seems like a wheat variety but it is not. It is commonly grown in Russia and China. The benefits of buckwheat are substantial. It does not have any glutin, it is better for you than oats being rich in iron, zinc and selenium. It is extremely helpful for those who suffer from Type II diabetes, and more generally, is great at reducing high blood pressure. Although beware because some people are very allergic to it. Traditionally, it has been a 'poor persons' food being eaten as a porridge (not very tasty cooked that way, I must say). However, buckwheat is experiencing a resurgence in popularity due to its health benefits, and I hear buckwheat flour makes a great shortcrust pastry as well.
What I like most about buckwheat rissoles is that they are vegetarian, yet the nutty flavour of the buckwheat does tend to trick us into thinking the rissoles may have some meat in them. As a child, it was great to learn that some meals can be meat-free. This is a particularly good lesson to learn young considering our eating habits these days. Unfortunately, we are reducing the portion of vegetables, and increasing the portion of protein (dairy products and meat), as well as eating more of the less efficient carbohydrates such as white rice and white bread (not to mention processed foods like crackers etc). This practice has led to an increase of bad fat in our system, and as a result: clogged our arteries; increased our blood pressure; and, led to very unhealthy and alarming weight increases.
With three out of four people in danger of becoming a diabetic, and obesity on the rise in the younger generations, as a society we need to re-educate ourselves on how to eat better and healthily. Dishes like Buckwheat rissoles are fantastic as we can substitute the less efficient carbohydrates that we love to eat so much and still get that 'fullness' feeling, and also remember that we don't need to eat so much meat with every meal - particularly high fat meat!
Anyway enough seriousness for this blog, and onto the buckwheat rissoles ... They take about 45 minutes to make, I fried them like flat rissoles, and stored them in the oven on a low heat until ready for serving. They retain a nice softness in the middle, and therefore texturally are very pleasing. I would also recommend they be served for lunch rather than dinner, and they are excellent to have cold for lunch the next day with salad, or just a nice snack. Since it was my first time to make them, I strictly followed the recipe. Next time though I may add some Indian spices like cumin, ground coriander, and some curry powder, to jazz them up a bit. They are great to take on a picnic as well!
Ingredients
1 cup buckwheat
1 and 1/2 cups water (I used 2 cups)
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
2 tblspns soya sauce
1 1/2 cups celery, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 egg
1 cup wholemeal flour (I can't buy wholemeal flour so I had to use plain flour instead)
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Cook buckwheat in water like porridge for our about 10 minutes until soft. I cooked the buckwheat at a relatively low heat given they are very absorbent and therefore it is easy to burn the bottom of the saucepan. While the mixture is still warm, add other ingredients. Using a spoon and some flour make into a rissole shape. Fry in some olive oil until both sides are nicely browned. Pop in casserole dish in low heat oven until ready for serving.
Bon Appetit! Here's to better healthy living ...
It's no secret that one of my biggest weaknesses in life is books. I simply love collecting them - recipe books included. Over time though I've learned that not all recipe books are created equal. They range from dull and uninspiring recipes, to over-the-top and impossible-to-make recipes with impossible-to-locate ingredients. So the lesson is to choose your recipe books wisely!
I currently have two favourite recipe books, one of which I've blogged about before (Jaime Oliver) and the other is Stephanie Alexander's "The Cooks Companion". Both of these could be seen as cooking bibles - the best of the best so to speak. I now have a wider repertoire of dishes, and largely it has been due to these two books. Thanks to Stephanie, I can now make the perfect hollandaise sauce! Thanks to Jaime, I can now make a beautiful mayonnaise, and not to mention the ultimate in chocolate tarts!
The recipe I'm blogging about today, however, is an example of how recipe books can let you down, and cause a cooking nightmare! I should have been wary of this recipe book, entitled 'Bite', from its presentation alone. Firstly, it's way too sexy for a recipe book. Beware the recipe book that relies on beautiful pictures of the finished dishes for every single dish. In my experience, the best recipe books have twice as much text and fewer pictures. Secondly, it portrays its recipes as 'really easy'. This is the kind of recipe book designed for impulse buying - buyer beware!
It's not all bad though, I've tried a few recipes from the book, and they've turned out fine. The Free-Form Braised Leek Tart was a different story altogether. I should have known because I've often said how much I dislike making pastry so 'free-form' seemed too good to be true. And also I've never had 'free-form' pastry in any restaurant. There's a good reason, I don't think there is such a thing! However before I start my sad story, I'll give you the recipe because it is actually good (without the free-form element), mainly because it uses one of my favourite vegetables - the humble yet glorious leek.
Ingredients
Shortcrust pastry
1 tsp olive oil
2 peeled and chopped red onions
500g Australian Leeks (cut into 3-4 cm lengths) - I bought mine from Santis Delicatessen
1 sprig of chopped Thyme
100ml of white wine
100ml of vegetable stock
55g grated parmasen cheese
Baking Cream Custard
200mls heavy double cream
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Method
Roll pastry out to about 0.3cm thick. Line a 16cm square baking tart tin, fill with rice, and blind bake for 15 mins. Remove weights and cool tart shell. Heat oil over low heat, add onions, leek and thyme. Cover and cook over low heat until onions are soft. Add wine and stock, and continue to simmer until leek is just tender. Leave to cool.
Prepare baking cream custard. Combine cream, eggs, salt and pepper in mixing bowl and mix well.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Arrange leek in tart shell, and pour baking cream custard over. Bake for about 20 mins or until custard is set. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.
My sad story continued ...
Well my sad story is all about the pastry, of course. I've changed the recipe above so that you will be using a tart tin. The original recipe suggests you cut a 16 inch square and then bring the sides up and pop it into the oven to blind bake. The only problem is that as soon as you put it in the oven the sides just simply fall down (butter is not very strong when it's hot after all)! I had to resort to using four glasses to prop up the sides - it was only kind of successful though. My leek tart had become a 'leak' tart instead!
The end result was that when I poured in the baking custard in it slowly trickled out of one of the corners and onto the floor of the oven. In the end, my poor tart was missing half of the baking cream custard by the time it was ready to come out!!!! As you can see from the photo of the finished tart there was still some filling left, but a very disappointing result. Other than that it is actually a very good recipe!
I really loved the use of the leeks because it brought out their sweet flavour, and also showcased them as the main centre piece. Too often leeks are relegated to be soup or casserole bases, and they really do have a wonderful taste all by themselves. So this is a recipe I will try again albeit with a tart tin next time around. Free-form indeed!!! I'll leave that one up to the pastry chef experts!
Bon Appetit!
