Place the buckwheat groats in a bowl and cover with cold water and the apple cider vinegar. Leave for at least three hours or overnight.
Rinse the groats thoroughly and set aside. Bring a medium pot of water to the boil over medium heat and add the frozen green peas. Cook for 1-minute before removing them from the heat, straining them and running the peas under cold water to cool. Set aside.
In a large pan, heat the olive over medium heat and add the garlic to sautée until fragrant - around 1 minute.
Add the buckwheat groats and stir.
Add the stock and turn the heat to low-medium.
Meanwhile, put half the blanched peas plus all of the mint, baby spinach and a few tablsepoons of water in to a blender and blend until smooth. Add a touch more water if needed.
Add the remaining peas and pulse a few times to roughly chop; we want to maintain some texture.
Pour the pea mixture in to the buckwheat pan and stir through. Add the lemon zest (optional)
Cook for five minutes or until the buckwheat is al dente and most of the stock has absorbed. I remove my risotto from the pan when the mixture is still loose and there is a little liquid still remaining. The buckwheat will continue to absorb so this just prevents the risotto from gettng gluggy.
Season with salt and pepper to serve with a sprinkling of vegan parmesan.