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#CleverKachen: Buckwheat ‘risotto’

Got leftover beef and broth? Turn them into this comforting Buckwheat ‘Risotto’!

For this #CleverKachen recipe, I’m giving leftover Pot-au-feu a completely new makeover by turning it into a creamy, flavour-packed buckwheat ‘risotto’.

This is the third and final meal in my Pot-au-feu challenge, where one big pot of slowly simmered beef becomes three completely different dishes.

Instead of using rice, I’m cooking buckwheat in the rich, homemade beef broth from day one, together with mushrooms, garlic and a splash of white wine. The leftover beef and carrots go in towards the end, before everything is finished with Parmesan, rocket and a little lemon zest.

The result is a hearty, comforting dish that makes the most of the original Pot-au-feu, including its delicious cooking liquid!

And there are a few extra #CleverKachen tricks along the way: don’t throw away your Parmesan rinds, as they’re brilliant for adding flavour to soups and sauces. And if you have some slightly wilted rocket hiding in the fridge, this is the perfect way to use it up!

It’s a delicious way to give yesterday’s leftovers a completely new lease of life.

→ Discover all three Pot-au-feu #CleverKachen recipes

#CLEVERKACHEN

Cooking with leftovers doesn’t have to mean eating the same meal twice. With a little planning, one base recipe can become several completely different dishes – while giving ingredients that might otherwise be forgotten in the fridge or cupboard a new purpose.

#CleverKachen is a project created in collaboration with the Luxembourg Ministry of Agriculture, showing how a little creativity in the kitchen can help us make the most of our food and reduce food waste at home.

Ingredients

SERVES 2-3

30g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
200g mushrooms, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
160g buckwheat
75ml white wine
850ml leftover beef stock from pot-au-feu
150g leftover cooked beef, chopped
2 leftover cooked carrots, sliced
40g parmesan
Two handfuls of ruccola
zest of ½ lemon
salt and pepper

Method

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onion for 3 minutes with a pinch of salt. Add the crushed garlic and fry for another minute. Add the sliced mushrooms and fry for a few more minutes until browned.

Stir through the buckwheat, then deglaze with the white wine and cook until the wine has been absorbed. Add the beef stock, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, uncover, add the leftover beef and carrots and cook for another 10 minutes until almost all the liquid has been almost entirely absorbed.

Just before serving, stir through the parmesan and ruccola, then season to taste with a bit of lemon zest and pepper.

Divide between two plates and serve.

#CleverKachen Tips:
• You will have more broth than you need for this recipe. Fill the remaining broth into jars and freeze for future recipes.
• Don’t throw away Parmesan rinds! Add the hard rind to tomato sauces, soups or stews while they’re simmering. It releases lots of savoury, umami flavour as it cooks. Simply remove the rind before serving.
• Wilted rocket or herbs? Don’t throw them away! As long as they’re just wilted and not slimy or spoiled, they’re still perfectly good to cook with. Stir them into risotto towards the end of cooking, or add them to sauces for extra flavour and less waste.