I love the nutty texture of buckwheat and it makes a nice difference from bulgur wheat that is normally used in tabbouleh.

It may seem like an extensive ingredients list, but it’s the spices that make all the difference for the flavor profile (try not to skip the Jamaican All Spice and cinnamon as I think they are key in elevating the dish to its punchy glory). You can of course skip the cheese if you are vegan or use a feta or goats cheese if you like.

This dish like most things that have a while to develop and mellow tastes even better the next day (always at room temperature though).

Ingredients

200g buckwheat
6-8 carrots trimmed (with stems if possible)
Olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon Garlic powder
5 Jamaican all spice berries (ground in pestle & morter)
½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
½ red onion finely chopped
Handful sultanas
Juice 1 lemon
20g Hazelnuts chopped
1 pack halloumi – sliced
Bunch mint – chopped
Bunch parsley – chopped
Pomegranate seeds
Pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Soak the buckwheat in water overnight or for 6 hours. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Mix the carrots, olive oil, cumin seeds & garlic powered in a bowl, then season with salt. Roast for 30 minutes until tender. Cool.
2. Add the soaked buckwheat to a pan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and run under cold running water.
3. Toss the remaining ingredients and 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the buckwheat.
4. Heat a chargrill pan until smoking hot and griddle the halloumi slices for approx. 3 minutes on each side, until slightly softened and with char lines.
Season and top with the roasted carrots and halloumi slices to serve.