Freekeh Tabouli

So… what is Freekeh? (pronounced free-ka)

It’s a nutritious grain from young green wheat, it is similar to barley in texture but I think it has a stronger taste, more of a toasty wholegrain flavour. It is low GI, low carb, good source of protein and high fiber.

This tasty little grain can be used for hot or cold dishes, in salads or in place of rice, pasta or cous cous. I really like this grain’s flavour when it’s cool and I first tried it in a salad similar to tabouli but also with baby cos lettuce and topped with roast pumpkin. It was absolutely delicious, so I decided to recreate a tabouli salad base to share with you. You could either have it as a side dish or as a main like I did, adding in any other salad ingredients or roast veggies to bulk it out and keep things interesting!

Freekeh Tabouli

Plant-based – Dairy Free

Makes: 4 side serves, or 2 main serves.

Time: Cooking- 20-25 minutes

Prep- 15 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1 cup (dry) freekeh, roasted cracked wholegrain, this cooks out to around 2 ½ cups.

- 1 lemon, juiced

- 2 medium tomatoes, diced

- 1 garlic clove, crushed

- 1/3 cup of red onion, finely chopped

- ½ cup of red capsicum, diced

- 2/3 cup of parsley, finely chopped

- ¼ cup of mint, finely chopped (can omit this and just use parsley, or coriander is good here)

- 1 tsp tamari

- 1 tsp chili flakes

- Black pepper to taste

- 1 tbsp of pepita seeds, to garnish

Method:

- Rinse the freekeh in running water before popping it in a saucepan on the stove, along with 2 cups of water. Bring it to the boil, and then turn down to a low heat and cover to cook for around 20-25 minutes, stirring it occasionally.

- Place the finely chopped onion into a small bowl with the lemon juice and allow to soak while the freekeh is cooking. This takes away a lot of the raw bite of the onion.

- Once the freekeh has cooked, it should be soft but still have a chew to it, drain away the excess water and run it under cold water to cool it down.

- Place the cooked freekeh into a large bowl, and add in the rest of the ingredients except the pepita seeds. I recommend adding in the chopped herbs a bit at a time, and tasting as you go, as they are a strong flavour and you may find that you don’t need the whole portion of herbs in there.

- Combine all of the ingredients together, transfer into a serving bowl and top with the pepita seeds.

- If you have any leftovers store them in an airtight container in the fridge.

Let me know how you go if you do try these out yourselves, or post a picture on instagram with the hashtag #cinnamoncourtney so I can see all of your recreations!

“Life always gets better when I treat myself better” – Robert Holden