Salad of Freekeh, Broad Beans, Radish, Peas, & Herbs

Freekeh is just starting to make an appearance in mainstream supermarkets. Similar to Bulgar, wheat is harvested early and so remains green. This makes it difficult to hull, so the wheat is carefully piled up and burned in the fields removing the chaff and giving the grain a smoky flavour. Perfect to compliment a BBQ which is exactly what I used it for. 

Ingredients:

Freekeh - 100g

Broad beans - 100g podded weight

Peas - 100g

Radish - 10

1 clove of garlic - peeled and finely grated

Mint. Dill, Coriander - 1 small bunch of each

Lemon - 1/2

Olive oil

Method:

Blanch the broad beans for few minutes until just soft then refresh in iced water. Remove the leathery skin and set the beans aside. Remove the mint from the stems and finely chop with the remainder of the herbs. Bring 1 l of water to the boil and simmer the freekeh for 20 minutes until tender. Drain and allow to cool. 

In a large bowl juice the lemon and add the garlic, some seasoning and a large slug of oil. Mix well and add the freekeh tossing it through the dressing. Add the remainder of the ingredients, mix well, check the seasoning adding more lemon if you think it needs it. Serve.

Roast Chantenay Carrots, Butternut, Feta, Caraway, Cumin & Mint

I just bought the new Morito cookbook and I'm smitten. This is pretty much their recipe but with a few twists to adjust it to my palate. You don't need the butternut, up the quantity of carrots a bit - I just had too few carrots and a squash lurking in the fridge….!

Ingredients:

A small butternut - peeled, deseeded and cut into 1cm dice

Chantenay carrots, 250g - washed and cut lengthways into quarters

Feta - half a block

Cumin seeds, 1 tsp

Caraway seeds, 1tsp

Smoked paprika - a few pinches

Honey - 1tbsp

Rosewater - 1 tsp

Mint - a small handful of leaves, shredded

Half a lemon

Good olive oil

Method:

Toss the carrots, squash caraway and cumin seeds with a good slug of olive oil and some seasoning. Roast gently at 160c until nice and soft stirring occasionally. Add the honey, rosewater, a squeeze of lemon and taste. Plate up, sprinkle with smoked paprika, crumbled feta and the shredded mint. Drizzle with more good olive oil to finish.