Buckwheat Salad with Grilled Scallops is the perfect summer seafood salad for the patio.
If you are new to buckwheat recipes, this is a great place to start. Healthy and nutritious. Easy salad recipe that works as an appetizer or main dish.
Salads are so versatile. You can eat them for lunch or create a little heartier version for a nice dinner option. Adding protein is a great way to boost both flavour and substance.
RECIPE and INSTRUCTIONS for this cold buckwheat salad can be found at the bottom of this post.
We love adding seafood to our creations, especially when we are making a dinner salad.
- Smoked Salmon Salad is one of our go-to meals. Cucumber noodles are fun to make and eat.
- Shrimp and Grits Salad is a fun take on a classic southern meal. Another delicious grain-based meal.
Buckwheat Salad Has Lots Of Healthy Ingredients
Nutritious and healthy, filled with lots of great tastes and textures:
- (affiliate) cold cooked buckwheat groats
- pumpkin seeds
- goji berries
- nectarines
- oranges
- hemp seeds
- pomegranate balsamic vinegar
- seared scallops
All these ingredients combined create a wonderful grain-based meal that is gluten-free too.
Have you tried my Mushroom and Barley Casserole? Such a great one-dish dinner. It’s like baked barley risotto.
What Is Buckwheat?
A super healthy grain that packs a punch in the protein department. It also contains a great amount of fibre.
Wonderful meat alternative, and even works in vegan recipes. Helps to improve heart health, promote weight loss, and regulates blood sugar too.
Kasha is toasted buckwheat groats. It has a stronger, nuttier flavour. You can also get buckwheat flour (perfect for pancakes).
Soba noodles are actually buckwheat noodles.
Cooking Buckwheat
This highly nutritious whole grain can be cooked in water, milk, or broth. It is as simple to make as white rice. Check package directions for exact instructions.
Always rinse before cooking. 1 cup of uncooked groats yields 2 cups of cooked buckwheat.
It can be eaten hot (like porridge) and used in sweet and savoury recipes.
Making The Salad
Everything for this delicious seafood salad can be done ahead of time. All you have to do is sear or grill the scallops just before serving.
- Cook the groats according to the package directions and let cool.
- Make the dressing.
- Dice up the nectarines.
- Combine the goji berries, pumpkin seeds, nectarines, and buckwheat in a bowl.
- Add a few tablespoons of dressing and combine.
- Grill or sear the scallops.
- Place some greens on the plate.
- Top with the buckwheat salad mixture.
- Top with the grilled scallops.
- Drizzle with more dressing.
- Garnish with hemp seeds.
Recipe Suggestions
You also have the opportunity to swap out ingredients too. For instance, I used pomegranate balsamic in this recipe. Feel free to experiment. Check out some other great flavoured vinegars at MyOlive.
If you don’t have access to (affiliate) goji berries you can substitute cranberries or (affiliate) dried blueberries.
You can sear the scallops on the stovetop or grill them on the bbq.
In this recipe I used butter lettuce as the base. You can replace that with:
- spinach
- kale
- mixed greens
- romaine
- arugula
Looking for more healthy seafood meals? I have a few nutritious recipes for you to try:
- Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers made with crab, spinach, and goat cheese.
- Quinoa Tuna Casserole is an updated version of the classic noodle casserole mom used to make.
- Tuna Avocado Salad is an awesome and hearty main dish. Easy summer eating!!
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Summer Buckwheat Salad with Grilled Scallops
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 1 cup uncooked white buckwheat
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ¼ cup goji berries
- ¾ cup diced fresh nectarines
- 12 fresh scallops
- dash red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoons oil for searing the scallops (your choice)
- 1 tablespoons hemp seeds
- 3 cups fresh greens (lettuce, kale, spinach, butter lettuce)
For the Dressing:
- 1 Cara Cara orange
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 ounce pomegranate balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons agave nectar
Instructions
- Cook the buckwheat in 2 cups of cold water for about 10-12 minutes. DON’T overcook. Drain excess liquid and rinse well with cold water to stop the cooking process. Buckwheat should still have a firm texture. Place in bowl to cool.
- For the Dressing: Peel the orange and puree. Use a blender or immersion blender for this process. NOTE: If the orange is dry add about 1 oz. of water.
- Slowly blend in olive oil.
- Add pomegranate balsamic vinegar.
- Add agave nectar.
- Dice nectarines. Add the nectarines, pumpkin seeds and goji berries to the cooled buckwheat.
- Add some of the dressing to the mixture and place in the fridge to allow the flavours to blend.
- Heat a cast iron skillet (we did ours on the BBQ) with some olive oil added.
- Sprinkle the scallops with red pepper flakes.
- Sear on both sides.
- Place some greens on a plate (I used butter lettuce)
- Add the buckwheat salad.
- Top with seared scallops.
- Drizzle with additional dressing.
- Sprinkle with hemp seeds.
LaKita
This buckwheat salad combination looks absolutely amazing and so perfect to enjoy this summer on the patio. I definitely do not use buckwheat enough!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is the perfect place to try buckwheat. I agree it is underused for sure.
Enriqueta
I didn’t have buckwheat handy so I used quinoa instead and my salad was simply glorious! Thank for sharing!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Quinoa is a great alternative, along with farro. Glad you enjoyed this salad.
Jenny
Wow, that is a showstopper recipe. We are having my inlaws over for a few days, and they are big foodies, also care about what they eat. So this salad is what I was looking for. It looks incredible and healthy. Thank you!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
Well I am sure you will impress them…they will love it.
Brianna
Light, healthy and easy enough for a weeknight. The nutty buckwheat goes great with scallops!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
This is a wonderful summer meal…patio perfect. ENJOY!
Alex
That dressing sounds so light and refreshing – just what I need right now! Now just to find some scallops!
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
With the summer heat, this is the perfect meal.
Erin
I have so much buckwheat sitting in my pantry that I never use! I should really give this a try. And I love the other ingredients! It sounds totally different than any other salad I’ve ever made.
Gloria Duggan | Homemade & Yummy
I am impressed that you have buckwheat, most people don’t even know what it is, other than soba noodles. ENJOY!