Buckwheat salad with beets, orange, arugula, and feta

This buckwheat salad features a perfect combination of nutty buckwheat groats with sweet roasted beets and orange. The addition of peppery arugula, salty feta, crunchy hazelnuts, and citrusy sauce makes this a healthy and full of flavor salad! This colorful salad is very filling and would be perfect in your lunch box. I’m sure you’ll love it.

If you can’t find buckwheat, this salad would be also terrific without it!

What are buckwheat groats?

Buckwheat groats (also called kasha) are seeds of a flowering plant related to rhubarb. Contrary to the name, they are not related to wheat. Buckwheat groats are very healthy and naturally gluten-free. They have wonderfully earthy and nutty flavor but not seasoned properly can be a bit bitter and boring. They are very popular in Central and Easter-European cuisines. Make sure to buy toasted buckwheat groats, as they are much more flavorful, but untoasted grains will also work. You can also cook untoasted buckwheat and toast it yourself on a dry pan or in the oven.

My other buckwheat recipes:

• Buckwheat risotto with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and chanterelles
• Savory buckwheat pancakes with sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan

Ingredients:

Buckwheat groats: it’s best to use toasted buckwheat, but untoasted will also be fine. Substitutions: pearl barley, pearl couscous, millet, bulgur.

Beets: You can use ready-to-eat, cooked beets or roast raw beets in the oven.

Oranges: I always make this salad in winter, when the oranges are in season and super sweet. I used blood oranges for this salad because of their beautiful color but regular oranges will also work.

Arugula/rocket: its peppery taste perfectly balances the sweetness of oranges and beets. You can also use other salad leaves for this salad, lamb’s lettuce would be a good substitute.

Hazelnuts: other nuts like walnuts, pecans, or pistachios would be great.

Feta cheese: it’s salty, flavorful and easily available. You can use mild, crumbly goat cheese instead.

How to make it step by step:

STEP 1+2: Cook the buckwheat groats: Place 1/2 cup (190g) buckwheat in a medium pot, pour in 1 cup boiling water or broth. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil, stir, cover the pot and bring to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Remove the pot from the heat, uncover and leave for 10-15 minutes. After this time, fluff up with a fork, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

STEP 3: Mix all the ingredients for the orange lemon vinaigrette together (3 Tbsp olive oil, 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 Tbsp orange juice, 1 ts honey, 1 ts grated orange zest, salt and black pepper to taste). The fastest way to do this is to pour them into a small jar, close the lid, and shake well. You can also mix it in a food processor – the sauce will be thicker and creamier.

STEP 4: Assemble:

• Spread cooked buckwheat on a plate.
• Rinse and dry the arugula (preferably in a salad spinner). Arrange the arugula leaves on top of the buckwheat.
• Peel the oranges and cut them into slices. Cut the beetroots into slices. Arrange beet and orange slices interchangeably on the arugula leaves.
• Toast the nuts in a dry pan until slightly brown and fragrant. Immediately transfer to a plate as they can quickly burn. Sprinkle the nuts and crumbled feta cheese over the salad.
• Drizzle with the sauce.

Enjoy!

How to slice oranges (how to fillet an orange):

You need to remove the orange peel and the white pith. The easiest way to do it is to place the orange on a cutting board, cut off the orange peel along with the white pith with a downward, curved movement, using a sharp knife. Rotate the orange until it’s completely peeled, then cut off the bottom. Cut the peeled orange into slices.

How to roast beets:

It’s better to use small beets as the large ones need a long baking time. Wash the beets but don’t peel them. Wrap each beet loosely in aluminum foil and bake for 40-60 minutes, until tender (a knife inserted into the beets should go through without resistance). Larger beets may need more time. Roasted beets can be refrigerated for a couple of days or frozen.

How to make it ahead:

This salad can be made ahead, but you need to store all the ingredients separately in the fridge and assemble just before serving.

Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!