Buckwheat Pastry for Cups and Cases

Buckwheat flour has a naturally earthy, slightly bitter flavour and contains little gluten, which makes it more fragile than wheat pastry but gives it a satisfying crunch and a distinctive nuttiness. Small cups and tartlet cases made from buckwheat pair particularly well with rich or umami-forward fillings such as roe emulsion, aged cheese or liver pate, since the slight bitterness balances intense flavours rather than competing with them. Because buckwheat pastry lacks elasticity, rest the dough in the fridge for 20 minutes before pressing into molds, and blind bake to hold the shape. Mark used buckwheat cups as a structural, flavoured vessel for his scallop roe canape.