Roasted Broccoli, Buckwheat, and Basil Salad

Also containing roasted asparagus and peas, but I had to exclude these from the title to avoid  an righteous leg humping from Veggie Tales. I recently bought a big bag of buckwheat which I have never cooked before. My dad is violently allergic to buckwheat so it was always avoided growing up. Now that I am a big girl and thousands of miles away from my parental units it was due time to see what this grain was all about. It turns out to be a nutty and very versatile. I roasted up some broccoli, asparagus and peas added some prepared buckwheat and tossed it all with a fresh basil olive oil dressing, topped with roasted walnuts to give a pesto sort of flair. This salad is a keeper and I'm sure it would be great with other herbs and seasonal veggies. 

Roasted Broccoli Buckwheat Salad with Basil Dressing

1 head of broccoli

1 lb of asparagus

1 cup of peas (I used frozen)

2 cups prepared buckwheat

1/2 cup roasted walnuts (bake in oven for about 6 minutes at 350 degrees)

olive oil

for the Basil Dressing

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, minced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced finely

1/2 tsp or more salt

• Cut vegetables into small pieces, drizzle with olive oil and roast on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until vegetables look slightly tinged. 
• Boil 2 cups of water, adding a pinch of salt. Once water is boiling, add 1 cup dried buckwheat. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until buckwheat has absorbed all the water.
• Whirl basil, olive oil, garlic, and salt in food processor. If you don't have one, just stir all the ingredients together and make sure garlic is chopped super fine. 
• Toss vegetables, buckwheat and dressing together in a large bowl. Serve with roasted walnuts.

Also containing roasted asparagus and peas, but I had to exclude these from the title to avoid  an righteous leg humping from Veggie Tales. I recently bought a big bag of buckwheat which I have never cooked before. My dad is violently allergic to buckwheat so it was always avoided growing up. Now that I am a big girl and thousands of miles away from my parental units it was due time to see what this grain was all about. It turns out to be a nutty and very versatile. I roasted up some broccoli, asparagus and peas added some prepared buckwheat and tossed it all with a fresh basil olive oil dressing, topped with roasted walnuts to give a pesto sort of flair. This salad is a keeper and I'm sure it would be great with other herbs and seasonal veggies. 

Roasted Broccoli Buckwheat Salad with Basil Dressing

1 head of broccoli

1 lb of asparagus

1 cup of peas (I used frozen)

2 cups prepared buckwheat

1/2 cup roasted walnuts (bake in oven for about 6 minutes at 350 degrees)

olive oil

for the Basil Dressing

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves, minced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced finely

1/2 tsp or more salt

• Cut vegetables into small pieces, drizzle with olive oil and roast on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until vegetables look slightly tinged. 
• Boil 2 cups of water, adding a pinch of salt. Once water is boiling, add 1 cup dried buckwheat. Simmer for about 15 minutes or until buckwheat has absorbed all the water.
• Whirl basil, olive oil, garlic, and salt in food processor. If you don't have one, just stir all the ingredients together and make sure garlic is chopped super fine. 
• Toss vegetables, buckwheat and dressing together in a large bowl. Serve with roasted walnuts.