Chef's Recipes

Scampi, tomato and buckwheat

Emma McCaskill and Scott Huggins recipe for scampi, tomato and buckwheat from Magill Estate restaurant in Adelaide for Gourmet Institute.

By Emma McCaskill & Scott Huggins
  • 25 mins preparation
  • 15 mins cooking plus cooling, chilling
  • Serves 4
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Scampi, tomato and buckwheat

Ingredients

  • 160 gm buckwheat
  • 2½ tsp dried wakame
  • 75 gm softened butter
  • 15 gm Vegemite
  • 120 gm mixed heirloom tomatoes, such as black Russian, oxheart and tigerella, cut into 1cm dice
  • 100 gm scampi meat (from about 8 x 50gm scampi), chopped into 1cm pieces
  • 20 small warrigal green leaves (see note)
  • 8 red elk leaves (see note)

Method

Main
  • 1
    Line a tray with a tea towel and set aside. Cook buckwheat in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente (7 minutes). Drain through a fine chinois or sieve (don’t rinse), shaking off excess water, and spread evenly over prepared tray to drain and cool (5 minutes), then refrigerate to chill (15-20 minutes).
  • 2
    Rehydrate wakame in a bowl with 2 tbsp boiling water for 1 minute, then drain, squeezing out excess water, and finely chop into 3mm-4mm pieces. Set aside.
  • 3
    Whisk butter and Vegemite in a bowl until smooth, then melt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add buckwheat, wakame and tomato and stir until heated through (about 1 minute). Add 60ml water and continue stirring until mixture is emulsified. Add scampi, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until water has evaporated, scampi is pearlescent and butter is a pale yellow-white colour (1-2 minutes; the mixture should feel bound and resemble a risotto). Season to taste; don’t use too much salt – the Vegemite butter is already a little salty. Divide among serving bowls, garnish with warrigal greens and red elk and serve.

Notes

Note Small warrigal greens and red elk leaves can be ordered from select greengrocers.