Brian's buckwheat bake

Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients

1 red pepper

½ yellow pepper

2 stock cubes

275ml of water

½ red onion

½ green chilli

1 cup of buckwheat

2 garlic cloves

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon mild paprika

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tin black beans (or substitute for kidney beans)

1 pot of crème fraiche

4 tablespoons of cheddar cheese

½ bunch of chive

Method

1. Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees. Remove the core from the pepper and chop into bite-sized chunks. Toss the pepper in a splash of olive oil, place on a baking tray and cook on the top shelf of your oven for 15 mins.

2. In a pot, boil the water with the stock pot. Add the buckwheat. Gently boil until the buckwheat starts to come out of the water, then place a lid on the pot. Leave on the lowest heat for 10 mins before removing (don’t touch the lid until serving).

3. Peel and finely chop the red onion and garlic. Finely chop the chilli.

4. Heat a splash of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add in your red onion, garlic and chilli. Cook for around 5 mins until soft (but not coloured).

5. Add in the cumin, paprika and cinnamon and cook for 1 minute. Drain and rinse the black beans before tipping into the pan. Stir together with a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook for 1 minute and then remove from the heat until the buckwheat is ready.

6. Once your buckwheat is done (it should be dry not soggy, place back on low heat if needed), fluff it up with a fork to separate the grains and then stir this into your black bean mixture, together with your roasted peppers. Now stir in half the crème fraîche, test for seasoning and add more salt if needed.

7. Tip the mixture into an ovenproof dish and top with the cheese. Place on the highest shelf of your oven until the top is beautifully golden and crisp.

8. Serve with a big dollop of crème fraîche, a scattering of chopped chives.