Buckwheat Salad with Mushrooms and Parsley Oil

 
Get ready, acora foodies. This is a tasty vegetarian side dish or main course, depending on your appetite. Takes about 50 minutes and makes 4 servings. It could easily be halved if you want to cook a smaller amount. We found buckwheat groats at HIT in the natural foods/organic section on the first floor (next to the produce section). Credit to FoodandWine.com for this recipe.




Ingredients

• 2 cups lightly packed parsley leaves (8 ounces), 1 cup chopped (we used 1 bunch)
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt
• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat groats (kasha)
• 1/2 pound each of shiitake and oyster mushrooms, stemmed, large caps quartered (we used 1 box of cremini mushrooms - probably could've used 2 boxes for the full recipe)
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (we have extra, so feel free to borrow some from us)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges, for serving
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 large scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, diced 
• we added sauteed chicken breasts for some protein

 Preparation

1. (Since we don't have a blender, we finely chopped the parsley and mixed it well with the olive oil. I don't think it's essential to blanch the parsley, though we did it this time.) Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water. Blanch the 1 cup of parsley leaves in the boiling water for 20 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer the parsley to the ice water. Drain the parsley, squeeze out the excess water and pat thoroughly dry. In a blender, puree the blanched parsley with 1/3 cup of the olive oil. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt. 
2. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. In a large skillet, toast the buckwheat groats over moderately high heat, shaking the pan often, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Let cool slightly, then transfer to the boiling water and simmer over low heat, stirring often, until just tender but still holding its shape, about 5 minutes. Drain the buckwheat, spread it out on a large rimmed baking sheet (or cutting board or acora desk) and let cool to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the large skillet. Add the shiitake and oyster mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.
4. In a small bowl, mix all but 1 tablespoon of the parsley oil with the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and soy sauce.
5. In a large bowl, toss the cooked buckwheat groats, sliced scallions, diced fennel and the 1 cup of chopped parsley with the dressing; season with salt and pepper and transfer to a platter. Top the salad with the sautéed mushrooms and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of parsley oil. Serve with the lemon wedges.

One Serving 341 cal, 26 gm fat, 3.8 gm sat fat, 24 gm carb, 5 gm fiber.