February 24th, 2019

Freekeh is  young green durum wheat which has been toasted to give its unique smoky nutty taste. It is often cracked to shorten cooking times, but I recently held a Whole Foods class so I opted for the uncracked freekeh. It was as simple as placing one cup of freekeh into a saucepan with 2 cups of water, bringing it to the boil and simmering for 45 minutes. I then stirred, turned off the heat and alllowed it to sit for 10 minutes to absorb the final moisture. When cool, it can be refrigerated for many days making it a quick and easy source of protein and fibre (in fact, twice the amount than quinoa).

Here are one of the recipes that I used in the Whole Foods Vegetarian class:

Roasted Cauliflower with Freekeh, Almonds & Pomegranate     Serves 3-4
 
1 small head of cauliflower, broken into approx. 2cm florets
1 tspn cumin seeds
3-4 tblspns olive oil
½ cup cooked Freekeh (follow packet instructions)
½ cup finely chopped parsley and chives (or a mix of your favourite green herbs)
2 large green shallots, finely sliced white and green sections
½ cup almonds, roasted in 180C oven for 10 minutes
Pomegranate arils
Extra 2 tblspns olive oil
1 tblspn lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
 
Heat oven to 180C
 
To Roast the Cauliflower: In a bowl, mix together cauliflower florets, olive oil, cumin seeds, salt and pepper. Place on a lined baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until cooked to desired texture. (Toss halfway)
 
To Make the Dressing: Mix together 2 tblspns olive oil, 1 tblspn lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper.
 
To Compile the dish:    Roughly chop the almonds in half diagonally.
 
In a large mixing bowl, place cauliflower, cooked freekeh, herbs, shallot and pomegranate arils. Mix together with dressing and just before serving, fold through half of the almonds, reserving some for a crunchy topping.

Notes: 
I like to use natural almonds with skin.
Feta is a an optional extra ingredient