Super Freekeh

In my ongoing project to ‘vary my grains’ I picked up a box of the brilliantly named freekeh in my local ethnic shop.
Freekeh, when cooked, tastes nutty and new. But this green grain, fresh wheat, from Arabia, is as old as the hills and mentioned in the bible. It’s good for diabetes and has more protein than rice or couscous. I fried it in olive oil and onions, then studded it with red barberries and nibbed pistachios, topped with gremolata.
1 brown onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 stick of cinnamon
200g of freekeh (whole grain)
1 tbsp of sumac
250ml of hot vegetable stock
Salt to taste
A handful of barberries
A handful of green nibbed pistachios (I store mine in the fridge, along with the pine nuts, to keep them fresh)

Gremolata
2 handfuls of fresh curly parsley
1-2 cloves of garlic
Zest of 1 lemon

Fry the onions until soft then add the garlic, cinnamon and freekeh, stirring all the while.
Add the sumac and the hot vegetable stock. Simmer for around 20 minutes. The freekeh still has a slight al dente bite to it, but is soft enough to eat.
Make the gremolata in the food processor or with a hand blender.
Add the barberies and pistachios to the freekeh.

Tastes just as good cold, so great for a barbeque or picnic too.

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