Spiced Buckwheat Pudding with Pistachios and Currants

I’ve added buckwheat groats to baked goods before and I’ve ground them into a flour but I’d never cooked the whole kernels until yesterday. Why had I waited so long to do so? I am still asking myself that question…

Cooked buckwheat is creamy, hearty and SO delicious…in fact, buckwheat just might be my new favorite ingredient. Uh oh — Move over oats, buckwheat is now riding shotgun!

I’d been meaning to experiment with cooking whole buckwheat for a while now and I had too many ideas in my head. While I wanted to make two dishes — one sweet and one savory — I only had 3/4 cup of raw groats left in the pantry. Let’s just say my sweet tooth won the battle 🙂

Lightly spiced with cardamon and cinnamon and with a light, earthy sweetness from the coconut sugar, this “pudding” is a filling breakfast or snack and might even pass as a light dessert. The salted pistachios and currants add a lovely texture and flavor that compliment the spices nicely as well. If rice pudding and oatmeal had a baby, I think buckwheat pudding just might be the result…we’ll see, the verdict is still out on that one 🙂

Spiced Buckwheat Pudding with Pistachios and Currants

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup raw buckwheat groats
pinch of salt
2-4 Tbsp coconut sugar – I used 2 Tbsp (stevia, honey, agave or even maple syrup could be used**)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 to 1/2  tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup currants (I used zante, but raisins, cranberries, or cherries would be yummy)
1/3 cup shelled pistachios* (I used roasted and salted)
1-3 Tbsp almond milk or other non-dairy milk**
1-2 scoops of vanilla protein powder, optional but may need a bit more sweetener if omitted

pistachios and currants for garnish, optional

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine water, buckwheat, salt, sweetener, spices and vanilla and stir. Bring to a boil then cover and reduce heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes (depending on the texture and amount of chew you prefer, I cooked mine for 16 minutes).
2. Remove from heat and stir in the currants, pistachios, and almond milk. Let cool slightly and stir in the protein powder if using OR sweeten with additional honey, agave, or coconut sugar to taste. Serve immediately or chill for a hour or overnight and enjoy!

Makes about 3 cups (serves 2-4)

Recipe notes: I enjoyed this dish warmed as well as cold…if I had to choose I might like this chilled a teeny-tiny bit more because it reminded me more of a dessert similar to rice pudding. The warmed version was more like a breakfast oatmeal 🙂

*I used salted pistachios so if you are using unsalted, feel free to add more salt when cooking the buckwheat to enhance the flavors if desired.
**If using a liquid sweetener, you might need to decrease or omit the milk if you want a stiffer pudding, it’s up to you. If vegan, use any sweetener listed except for honey.