Buckwheat, chicken and grape salad with hazelnuts

Buckwheat, a pseudo-grain like quinoa and amaranth, is gluten free and has a delicious earthy taste that teams well with sweet grapes and nutty hazelnuts. Toasting the buckwheat really brings out its flavour.

Credit: Murdoch Books

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup (50 g) hazelnuts
• ¾ cup (150 g) raw buckwheat
• 400 g chicken breast fillets (2 x 200g)
• 1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• 2 bunches asparagus (about 16 spears)
• 200 g red seedless grapes, halved
• 1/3 cup chopped herbs, such as parsley, chives and mint, plus extra to garnish
• 1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly toast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 8–10 minutes, then wrap the hot nuts in a tea towel and rub off the papery skins. Chop the nuts coarsely.

Heat a large saucepan over medium–high heat. Add the buckwheat  and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes or until fragrant. Add 2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Cover, reduce the heat  to low and simmer for 12 minutes or until just tender (be careful not to overcook). Rinse under cold running water and drain well.

Slice each chicken breast horizontally through the middle so you have 4 thin fillets.Heat a chargrill pan over medium–high heat. Brush the chicken with extra oil and cook for 2–3 minutes each side or until lightly charred and cooked through.

Brush the asparagus with oil and cook for 1–2 minutes each side or until just tender. Cool, then thinly slice the chicken and cut the asparagus into short lengths.

Combine the buckwheat, chicken, asparagus, grapes, herbs and half the hazelnuts in a large bowl.

Whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice and honey to make a dressing, and gently toss through the salad. Serve garnished with the remaining hazelnuts and extra herbs.

Recipe and image from Real Delicious by Chrissy Freer (Murdoch Books, $35 hbk).

View an edited extract and more recipes from the book here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.