This satisfying buckwheat salad is loaded with pickles, chickpeas, and dill. You can serve it as a light main or a side dish.
As a full-blooded Ukrainian, buckwheat groats (“grechnevaya kasha” or “grechka” in Russian) have always been a constant of my diet. Well, to be specific, my mom was really keen on us eating the stuff because it is the superfood of Eastern European superfoods. Plus, it was cheap, accessible, and shelf-stable – i.e. the holy trinity of Soviet cooking.
But it wasn’t until I became an adult that I was able to appreciate its nutty personality and robust nutritional profile.
The most common way to serve buckwheat is as a side dish – plain, boiled, with butter. (I personally love it with creamy mushrooms.) But recently, my friend Sofya – a fellow Ukrainian – sent me a photo of her dinner. “I made a Ukrainian ‘bowl’ for dinner, I feel like you would love it,” the text read.
The buckwheat salad in the photo had chickpeas, carrots, and so much dill that the “bowl” was mostly green. I immediately fell in love with the concept and knew I’d have to recreate it. After making a couple of tweaks to my own preferences, I now have a new favorite grain salad.
Quick Recipe Summary
- What: A plant-based buckwheat salad with sautéed onions and carrots, chickpeas, pickles, and loads of dill.
- Why You’ll Love It: It’s an easy and nutritious side dish, and a delicious way to enjoy this gluten-free grain.
- How: While the buckwheat is boiling in water, you sauté onions and carrots in a skillet. Then you combine everything with chickpeas, chopped pickles, and dill, plus a quick mustard dressing.
About Buckwheat
Widely consumed across Eastern Europe, buckwheat is technically a seed, not a grain. It’s not related to wheat and does not contain any gluten. Buckwheat is sometimes called a “pseudograin” because it’s cooked and consumed like a grain (like quinoa).
Buckwheat Nutrition
Buckwheat is a true superfood. First off, it’s a complete protein (just like meat and dairy) – meaning, it contains all nine of the amino acids humans need to get from food – which makes it perfect for vegan diets. Secondly, buckwheat is high in fiber, which is essential for gut and heart health, and it has a high concentration of minerals, like magnesium, iron, and phosphorus.
Plain Buckwheat vs. Roasted (Kasha)
The buckwheat groats you’re likely to find in American stores are not roasted. They are a greenish-beige color, and have a much milder flavor and mushier texture. This type is best for soups and creamy porridge.
In Eastern Europe and Russia, roasted buckwheat is standard. It is dark brown in color, has a nuttier, more pronounced flavor, and the grains hold their shape better/are more fluffy. This is the type used in this buckwheat salad. (But don’t worry, if you can only find American buckwheat, there are instructions for roasting it in the FAQs below.)
In the anglo world, the word “kasha” connotes roasted buckwheat. But in Russian, the word is actually used for any porridge, be it oatmeal, cream of wheat, etc.
Key Ingredients + Substitutions
- Roasted Buckwheat “Kasha”: Look for it in an Eastern European market, if possible, or order online. Or you can buy the raw kind and roast it yourself (instrux in the FAQs below).
- Carrots + Onions: Add a sweet-savory layer to the salad.
- Pickles: The star ingredient of this salad. Their salty brininess offsets the nuttiness of buckwheat perfectly. A mix of pickles and kalamata olives would be nice here too.
- Chickpeas: Bulk up the salad and add more protein.
- Dill: Between the pickles and the abundant amount of dill, this salad has an unmistakably Ukrainian personality.
- Ukrainian Unrefined Sunflower Oil (Optional): This nutty yellow oil is a hallmark ingredient of Ukrainian cooking. (Not the same thing as regular American sunflower oil.) It’s mostly used as a finishing oil, to add flavor to boiled potatoes, eggplant “caviar”, vinegret salad, etc. You can find it in Ukrainian markets or online. If you can’t find it, extra virgin olive oil will certainly do.
How to Make Buckwheat Salad (Step-by-Step Photos)
Find the complete instructions with ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card below.
Step 1: Boil the Buckwheat
In a small pot, combine rinsed buckwheat with boiling water and salt. Cook [without stirring!] until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Then let the pot stand covered for another 10 minutes, still without stirring, so the kasha can absorb all the remaining steam. Following these steps will ensure the grains stay fluffy and separate, and not mushy.
Step 2: Sauté the Vegetables
Cook diced onion in olive oil until it softens and becomes translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add carrots, salt, and pepper, and cook until the vegetables are just starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes more.
Step 3: Make the Dressing
In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.
Step 4: Finish the Salad
Once the buckwheat has cooled a bit, in a large bowl, combine it with the sautéed veg, dressing, and all the other ingredients.
Serving Suggestions
This salad can be served right away, or it can be meal-prepped and enjoyed throughout the week, cold or at room temperature. If you want to make a full Ukrainian-inspired feast, serve it with these lentil patties, leek salad, and/or braised cabbage.
FAQs
If stored properly in an airtight container in the fridge, you can eat this salad for up to 3 days.
No. Although some nutritionists recommend it for specific digestion reasons, no Eastern European I know has ever soaked buckwheat before cooking.
If you want buckwheat grains that are fluffy and separate: 1. Use roasted [brown] buckwheat, not raw [greenish-beige] buckwheat. 2. Cook buckwheat in boiling water, not cold water. 3. Do not stir buckwheat while it is simmering. 4. Let it stand covered [without stirring] for 10 minutes after it’s finished cooking. After that, you can fluff it with a fork.
Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Arrange dry buckwheat in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until it smells nutty and is brown all over, about 25 minutes, stirring once halfway through to ensure even browning.
More Hearty Salads to Try
- Pearl Couscous Salad with Chickpeas
- Edamame Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Green Lentil Salad with Herbs
- Winter Orzo Salad
Let me know if you try this recipe! Give it a rating below and leave a comment, and don’t forget to tag your creation with @thenewbaguette on Instagram.
The Full Recipe
Ukrainian-Inspired Buckwheat Salad
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Eastern European
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegan
Description
This satisfying buckwheat salad is loaded with pickles, chickpeas, and dill. You can serve it as a light main or a side dish.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup toasted buckwheat (“kasha”)* [see note below]
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin coins on a diagonal
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (or table salt), divided
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons Ukrainian unrefined sunflower oil* (or extra virgin olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons mild vinegar (like white wine, red wine, or apple cider)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon or brown mustard
- 1 cup thinly sliced baby Kosher dill pickles (about 8 pickles)
- One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- In a small pot, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil.
- Place buckwheat in a mesh strainer and rinse well under running water.
- Add buckwheat to the boiling water, along with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover with a lid and simmer gently, without stirring, until all the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Then turn the heat off and let the pot stand covered, still without stirring, for another 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it is almost translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Then add the carrots, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper, and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are starting to turn golden, 6 to 7 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the sunflower oil, vinegar, mustard, and pinches of salt and pepper. Whisk to incorporate.
- Turn the buckwheat out onto a baking sheet/platter and spread into an even layer to cool. Set aside until it stops steaming, at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the buckwheat, cooked vegetables, pickles, chickpeas, dill, and dressing. Toss to combine. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Garnish with extra dill, if desired.
Notes
- Look for toasted [brown] buckwheat in Eastern European markets or online. If you can’t find it, you can roast raw buckwheat yourself. The instructions are in the FAQ section above.
- This nutty yellow oil is a hallmark ingredient of Ukrainian cooking. (Not the same thing as regular American sunflower oil.) You can find it in Ukrainian markets or online. If you can’t find it, extra virgin olive oil will do.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 375
- Sodium: 860 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Carbohydrates: 47 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 11 g
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