I made this unusual but so delicious and super healthy polow the other day for my family and it got the thumbs up!!! ( Phew, they are my harshest critics!)
Freekeh is a young, green rice that has been toasted. It is full of fiber, potassium, selenium and magnesium. The cooking time of freekeh is quite long but the beautiful quality of the grain is, that it keeps its chewiness,
• for 6 people
• 400 gr organic freekeh grains
• 400 gr organic chickpeas, soaked over night and boiled until just cooked
• 4 large, Spanish onions, 2 thinly diced and 2 thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon black whole cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground turmerick
• 600 ml good chicken or vegetable stock
• 400 gr diced tomatoes
• 2 big handful of baby cavolo nero, the hard stems cut off and sliced
• a big handful Italian parsley, chopped
• 3 table spoon tomato concentrate
• salt and pepper
• 300 gr Persian fetta
• some preserved lemons ( optional)
• in a large fry pan heat some olive oil and a little butter
• add the cumin and turmeric and let them fry for a few minutes
• add the 2 diced onions and cook until they start to soften
• now the tomato concentrate and mix well
• add the freekeh and coat it all well, adding a little more oil if too dry
• pour in the stock
• mix everything well
• put the lid onto the pan, reduce the heat and let it cook gently for about 1 hour
• meanwhile fry the onion rings in a little olive oil until crisp and set aside
• add the cavolo nero the the freekeh mixture and mix well
• cook for another 15 minutes, then add the chickpeas
• after 15 minutes, taste and add seasoning if needed
• pour the polow into a large, shallow dish
• mix through the fried onions,
• add the Persian fetta and chopped parsley
• finely slice some preserved lemons
• I made a salad with baby spinach, Italian parsley, basilico and mint
• chopped some toasted pistacchio nuts
• and dressed it with lemon juice, virgin olive oil, salt and pepper
• it a perfect match !