Buckwheat & Rice Porridge

I've had a real hankering for porridge recently ...

First, buckwheat is not a grain - it is a seed; a pseudo-cereral.

While buckwheat is so very low in gluten that people with Coeliac Disease can happily ingest it without issue, it does have lectins.

Furthermore, it does have phytase, which is useful in breaking down phytic acid especially in other cereals that are higher in phytic acid - oats, for example.

Stephan Guyanet's article on how to eat grain gives us some insight into how to use sprouting, fermentation and cooking to reduce, if not remove, anti-nutrients in grains, legumes and cereals.

The main thrust of paleo eating is to eat widely available foods which do not present any digestive or health issues. Paleo sees no need to make other foods more ingestible, so why bother? Well, if I'm going to eat off the table, it might as well be the best it can be.

For this porridge, I used buckwheat flakes and rice flakes. Both types of flakes are made by steaming and rolling - the husks are removed and the starchy insides then dried off to make flakes. Both are high in carbohydrate with a reasonable protein profile: 85% carbohydrate, 10% protein and 5% fat. Buckwheat has zinc, iron and selenium.

Soaked overnight in buttermilk, which is a fermented dairy liquid from the leftovers of cream made into butter, to ensure that the cereal has the best chance reducing or removing remaining anti-nutrients, the liquid was poured off and then warmed through in a pan with water, and cream added towards the end of the cooking period.

Stirring with a spurtle for maybe five minutes while gently warming through turned the mixture from a loose texture to a much thicker texture which is how I think of porridge, porridge in the Scotch tradition.

Served out into a wide-brim bowl with a little sea salt sprinkled over ... just the ticket! Maybe a little coarser than a traditional Scotch oat porridge, but very much the warm, soft, sticky porridge I like.

For a particularly induldgent porridge, a nip of Whisky really lifts it!

But why not just use oats? Well, oats are high in phytic acid which binds to micronutrients (especially, zinc, iron, magnesium and calcium), blocking bioaccessibility. Otherwise, produced in the same manner: steamed and rolled, oats have a good profile.

Fermented overnight with a proportion of the cereal mix being buckwheat, providing a useful portion of phytase, the phytic acid can actually be reduced to insignificant levels and dramatically increasing the bioavailability of micronutrients therein.

I might just try that next time ... it'll probably be another year.

Steamed Cod with Japanese Vegetables

Simple, clean, honest flavours in a light, colourful dish.

Almost raw with all ingredients cooked as little as possible, if at all.

Begin by peeling and slicing carrot and daikon. Place in a bowl and splash over a generous amount of mirin - Japanese rice vinegar. Set aside.

Prepare the fish by simply lining a steamer with kitchen foil, laying the fish on a couple of slices of lemon, topped with ginger and maybe a little sea salt. Set aside.

Quarter the pak choi and set aside.

When ready eat, place the steamer over and cook the fish in the hot steam for literally a couple of minutes - this is perfect for white fish like cod, which will cook rapidly. Insert the tip of a knife into the middle of the fish and touch your lip - still cold, steam for another minute, or so, checking regularly.

In a dry pan pre-heated, toss in the pak choi and cook through as little as you can - just enough to take the raw edge off and permit a little sweetness to come from the warmth while retaining all the crunch.

Meanwhile, drain off the excess mirin from the carrot and daikon, toss in a chopped red chilli, stir in some chopped coriander and a few seeds - sesame is obvious; I didn't have any so a sprinkle of flax seeds fitted in perfectly.

Take a mound of the carrot and daikon and place in the middle of a wide bowl. Lay the pak choi around on side and the fish on top, garnishing with some chopped red chilli and perhaps a leaf of coriander.

Enjoy the crisp, clean flavours.

Scallops on an Omelette Duvet

On an omelette duvet? Really?

We had a bit of fun on Mark's Daily Apple forums coming up with names for this dish. Scallops in Bed led to consideration of the bed clothes and one thing led to another ... Scallops on an Omelette Duvet.

What's involved?

Scallops in their shell, some seaweed, a Japanese omelette and a creamy sauce.

First, carefully part the scallop from its shell and wash the shell well. Remove the coral from the scallop and the membrane around the white part of the scallop. Clean off any membrane from the coral and wash both the coral and the white in clean water to get any sand out.

Prepare the seaweed. I buy a bag of dried sea vegetables which need nothing more than immersion in hot water for a few minutes. Once revitalised, drain off, retaining the water.

The sea(weed) water forms the basis of the sauce, into which finely chopped shallot, garlic and the scallop coral is placed and warmed through for a few minutes, puréed and passed through a fine sieve back into the saucepan. Add cream at this point, set to simmer and reduce.

Japanese omelettes are very thin - one large egg and a tablespoon of water is all that is needed. Whisk the egg thoroughly, almost to a foam. Pour into an 8" skillet for make a 6" omelette, flip when necessary to cook on both sides.

Place the omelette on a board and cover with the seaweed. Roll it up and slice into inch wide section, placing two or three sections into each scallop shell.

Reduce the sauce further. Now thickened, salt to taste, toss in some chopped coriander and pour over the omelette duvet.

Melt some butter in the skillet and colour the scallop whites. Place onto the duvet.

Serve in a shallow bowl.