12 Ways to Cook With Buckwheat for Blinis, Blecs, and Beyond
Gluten-free buckwheat flour adds earthy, nutty flavor to blinis, pastas, salads, and more.
Buckwheat is a seed that when ground into a flour, has a nutty flavor and deep, rich brown color. Despite its name, buckwheat flour doesn't contain any wheat or gluten, and it does not fall under the category of grains. Naturally gluten-free, buckwheat flour makes a delicate pasta dough that stretches a little more than standard egg pasta when rolling.
"Freshly stone-milled flour is a living ingredient, full of flavor, texture, aroma, nutrition, and nuance," says baker Graison Gill at Bellegarde Bakery in New Orleans. Nina Compton uses Bellegarde's freshly milled buckwheat flour for Lemon-Buckwheat Shortbread cookie sandwiches.
See how chefs showcase the intensely earthy flavor of buckwheat in rustic dishes, from savory French crêpes to pasta, salads, and blinis, below.
Buckwheat Crêpes
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
These nutty, savory crêpes (also called galettes de sarrasin) from the Brittany region of France are topped with ham, Gruyére, and a sunny-side-up egg.
Buckwheat Crêpe Crackers
Chef Dominique Crenn uses a light buckwheat flour for the crispy crêpe crackers that top her Wild Mushrooms with Leek-Garlic Puree.
Buckwheat Blecs with Chicken and Rosemary
Blecs are handrolled pasta made from a mixture of wheat and buckwheat flours, that have a dumpling-like texture when cooked. 2005 F&W Best New Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson tosses them with a savory blend of chicken and rosemary.
Homemade Soba Noodles
Tender and supple with the perfect chewy texture, these from-scratch buckwheat soba noodles are easy to perfect.
Lemon-Buckwheat Shortbread
Lemon filling highlights the nuttiness of buckwheat flour in these shortbread cookie sandwiches from 2017 F&W Best New Chef Nina Compton, who uses Bellegarde Bakery’s stone-ground flour.
Buckwheat Soba Tiger Salad
2017 F&W Best New Chef Peter Cho combines two of his favorite dishes from Xi'an Famous Foods in New York City with these soba noodles and vegetables.
Quick Buckwheat Blini
These mini blini (called oladyi or blinchiki, which is the diminutive of blini in Russian), get their nutty flavor from buckwheat flour and require no rising.
Creamy Buckwheat Pasta with Wild Mushrooms
2014 F&W Best New Chef Matthew Accarrino tosses buckwheat pasta with creamy mascarpone, silky mushrooms, and runny eggs.
Buckwheat Pasta with Summer Squash, Tomatoes and Ricotta
Chef Travis Lett likes buckwheat for its added richness and texture. He cuts the fresh pasta into rough rag shapes and tosses it with summer vegetables. Simplify with dried pasta if desired.
Gluten-Free Winter Squash Gnocchi
No need for eggs here; squash puree and nutritious buckwheat flour partner well, allowing for just the right soft structure. The gnocchi are gluten-free and can be vegan if ghee is substituted with coconut oil or vegan butter.
Spring Buckwheat Noodle Salad
British cooks Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley dress this vegetable-packed noodle salad with a deeply flavorful and tangy sun-dried tomato and Brazil nut pesto.
Buckwheat Crust Pizza with Roasted Vegetables
Buckwheat flour makes the base for this nourishing and tasty gluten-free pizza that you can top with your favorite roasted vegetables.
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