Roasted Broccoli, Lemon Buckwheat Pilaf!

I’m so excited because my sister-in-law is flying in tonight! (For more house hunting!) I can’t wait to see her and catch up! She picked a great weekend to come, because spring is in full swing. The sky could not be bluer, the dreadful Cincinnati humidity hasn’t set in yet — perfect weather to scout houses!

yum!

Dinner.

Confession: I was so in love with last night’s Roasted Cauliflower Steaks, that I just had to try the same method with broccoli! This time, I served it in a buckwheat pilaf complete with shiitake mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach and lemon! (All Body Ecology Diet approved!!) And oh yeah — did I mention we had it with AMAZING Ahi Tuna?!?

gorgeous ruby-red Ahi Tuna!

Yeahhh, it was a delicious meal.

beautiful caramelization on the broccoli!

Lets start with the Roasted Broccoli. Here’s what you need:

1 head of organic broccoli, washed and broken into florets
Olive Oil (spray)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with olive oil spray. After you’ve broken them into florets, and they are *really* dry (I put mine in the salad spinner), place the florets on the baking sheet. Spray with olive oil, or toss with 2 tsp EVOO. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Roast them for 30 minutes, flipping half way through. YUM!

what a pilaf!

Now for the rest of the pilaf: Here’s what you need:

3/4 cup dry buckwheat groats, cooked in 1 1/2 cups veg stock.
1 shallot, minced
1/2 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 shiitake mushrooms, quartered
2 handfuls of spinach, chopped
dried basil and oregano

Dressing:
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
4 green onions, sliced
1 tsp EVOO

Saute your onions in 1 tsp EVOO with salt, pepper, dried basil and oregano. Let that soften for about 5 minutes. Then, add your shallot and let that soften for about 2 minutes. Stir in your mushrooms, and let those release their moisture, about 4 minutes. Finally, stir in you garlic and let it cook for a minute.  When your buckwheat finishes cooking (only 6 minutes!!!), fluff it with a fork, and then add your spinach to the top, put a lid on it, and let it steam and wilt for about 3 minutes. Then, fluff it into the buckwheat with your onion/mushroom mixture, roasted broccoli, and dressing. Salt to taste. YUM!!

such a gorgeous piece of fish!

Finally, that amazing Ahi Tuna!!

Oh my Gosh, this GORGEOUS ruby-red Ahi Tuna from Lobsta Bakes was just succulent! As you know, we’re big fans of Ahi Tuna — its buttery, melt in your mouth consistency is just fantastic. Now that I’m on the Body Ecology diet, I can no longer have sugar or soy sauce (among countless other things). Therefore, I could not marinate the tuna. However, to give it a truly spectacular taste, I suggest to marinate it first. This is the marinade I {{used to}} use…….*tear*

Marinade:
2 T Tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
1 T grated fresh ginger
1 BIG garlic clove, grated
1 t fresh lime juice
1 green onion, thinly sliced
small squeeze agave
1 tsp EVOO (or sesame oil if you have it)

I combined these ingredients with the tuna steaks in a gallon ziplock bag.  I made sure they were all coated, and then put the bag (on a plate incase it leaks) in the fridge for about an hour.

Searing your fish: In a super hot, non-stick grill pan sprayed with olive oil spray, sear each side for 1-2 minutes. If you want it less rare, you can cook it longer, but I wouldn’t recommend it!

well hello broccoli!

This meal was spectacular! First, the Ahi Tuna! Oh Gosh, the Ahi Tuna, when seared, is SO tender and buttery — it just melts in your mouth. Even though I couldn’t have it marinated in the Chinese-style marinade, they were amazing. And the lemon juice I used to flavor it really complimented the steaky, smokey flavor!

Finally, the Buckwheat pilaf was just out of this world! Now let me just say: I know it is confusing that I am gluten-free, but I’m eating buckWHEAT. Doesn’t it contain gluten?!? Well, my Happy Tummies, Buckwheat, despite its name, is NOT wheat — and not even related to wheat!! It’s a seed! Completely Gluten-Free! And they are delicious! Slightly nutty flavor, with a pleasant chewiness.

buckwheat gives it such amazing texture!

Back to the pilaf. The roasted broccoli in this was so amazing! Cooking it low and slow releases its sugars, and allows it to caramelize. It becomes slightly crunchy, and chewy, with an intense, smokey, broccoli flavor! The broccoli, paired with the slightly sweet caramelized onions, earthy mushrooms, bright spinach, fresh *zingy* lemon, and nutty buckwheat combined to a fantastic flavor combination!!

So yummy! My dad doesn’t even like broccoli, but he was gobbling it up — raving about it!! Roasting wins again!

This ahi tuna gets those gorgeous grill lines from...my grill pan! It makes grilling possible indoors! So great! Here's the one I use:

Happy Tummies!