Herbed Buckwheat with Crunchy Sugar Snap Peas and Crispy Roasted Lentils

Holy Cow, I have just made the most amazing, refreshing salad from buckwheat !  Who loves buckwheat ? I am not going to lie, but buckwheat and me have a little thing going.  I love the nuttiness of it.  I love the slight rawness of it as I do not cook it to a pulp.  I have been neglecting buckwheat a bit, so decided today was buckwheat day and man, I am so happy I did.  This salad does have a slightly addictive snack attack as an additive, but it is so worth it.  I will take full responsibility if you get to the point of…obsession and addiction (like me).  In the meantime, this is a must make salad guys.  Have it as a whole salad meal or a side, trust me both work.  It is packed with good, simple, nutritious ingredients….and it is pretty much green !

And, do yourselves a favour….The addictive, obsession snack…make it! Make it and love it as much as I do, but do yourselves another favour, and store some in a sealed container and freeze it, for easy usage on salads or whatever for next time.  You will Thank me !

Herbed Buckwheat with Crunchy Sugar Snap Peas and Crispy Roasted Lentils

Preparation and Total time:  10 minutes (this will alter if buckwheat is not cooked and lentils are not roasted)

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked buckwheat

1 cup baby spinach, uncooked and slightly chopped

1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves (or more), finely chopped

1/2 cup packed fresh parsley, stalks included, finely chopped

a handful (approx 60 grams or more) raw sugar snap peas, chopped

1 avocado (I used Hass Avocado, very creamy and buttery) Depending on the size of your avocado, you may want more…

1 fresh lemon, cut into quarters for lemon juice

salt and pepper

To garnish:

Roasted lentils * (either black, brown or green)

Instructions:

Cook buckwheat as per packet instructions.  Let cool.

Chop up your herbs really small and  mix through the buckwheat.

Add the sugar snap peas to the buckwheat.

On a serving plate, place spinach, top with the herbed buckwheat and sugar snap peas.

Add the avocado pear, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over and top with the crunchy roasted lentils.

To Roast Lentils:

Cook lentils as per packet instructions.  I don’t cook mine too much as I like a bit of texture.  Drain and dry them thoroughly with the help of kitchen towels and the lentils spread out individually.  Once completely dry, place them on a baking tray with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until crispy in a preheated oven at about 180 degrees Celsius / 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  They pretty much go black and shrink…it is a good sign 🙂 . Once done, let them cool and then go crazy and add them to EVERYTHING !!!

Enjoy 🙂