Freekeh
Freekeh is young green wheat that's roasted while still soft and then cracked, giving it a distinctive smoky flavor unlike any other wheat product. It's a traditional staple across the Levant, especially in Jordanian, Lebanese, and Syrian cooking.
How to buy
Whole freekeh keeps the cracked kernel mostly intact for a chewier bite and longer cook time, while cracked or fine freekeh cooks faster. Look for a greenish-tan color and a faint smoky smell; avoid grains that look overly dusty or smell musty.
How to store
Keep in an airtight container in the pantry for up to a year. Cooked freekeh keeps in the fridge for about 5 days and freezes well.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Smoky, nutty, and earthy from the traditional fire-roasting of the green wheat -- noticeably more intense than bulgur or farro.
- Texture
- Chewy and hearty, holding its shape well through long simmering in soups, pilafs, and stuffed dishes.
- Aroma
- A distinctly smoky, roasted-grain aroma, a direct result of the fire-roasting used to make it.
How to prepare
- Simmered pilaf-style — Toasted in oil with onion, then simmered in broth, the most common everyday preparation.
- Cooked into soup — Simmered longer in broth with lentils or chicken for a thick, warming soup.
- Cold salad prep — Cooked, cooled, and tossed with herbs, pomegranate, and a bright dressing.
- Used as stuffing — Mixed with spices and nuts to stuff poultry or vegetables before roasting.
Classic dishes
American
- Freekeh salad bowl — Cooked freekeh tossed with roasted vegetables and feta as a composed grain bowl.
Italian
- Freekeh risotto — A modern crossover dish cooking freekeh risotto-style with broth and parmesan.
Mediterranean
- Freekeh salad with pomegranate and herbs — Cooked freekeh tossed with pomegranate seeds, mint, parsley, and a lemony dressing.
- Freekeh tabbouleh-style salad — A tabbouleh variation using freekeh instead of bulgur for a smokier, chewier salad.
- Freekeh-stuffed grape leaves — Grape leaves rolled around a freekeh and herb filling instead of the usual rice.
- Freekeh-stuffed vegetables — Zucchini or peppers hollowed and filled with spiced freekeh, then baked.
Middle Eastern
- Freekeh pilaf with almonds — Freekeh simmered in broth with caramelized onions and topped with toasted almonds.
- Shorbat freekeh — A traditional Levantine soup of freekeh simmered with chicken or lamb broth, often served during Ramadan.
- Freekeh with chicken — Chicken braised over a bed of freekeh so the grain absorbs the rendered juices and spices.
- Stuffed chicken with freekeh — A whole chicken stuffed with spiced freekeh and nuts, then roasted until the skin crisps.
- Freekeh with lamb — Freekeh cooked with braised lamb and warm spices like cinnamon and allspice.
- Freekeh with caramelized onions and pine nuts — A simple pilaf finished with deeply caramelized onions and toasted pine nuts.
- Freekeh with green beans — Freekeh simmered with green beans and tomato in a traditional Levantine vegetable stew style.
- Freekeh breakfast porridge — Freekeh simmered soft with milk or broth for a warming, smoky breakfast.
- Freekeh with mushrooms — A modern pilaf variation folding sautéed mushrooms into freekeh for extra earthiness.
Substitutions
- Bulgur Wheat — Bulgur cooks faster and lacks freekeh's smokiness, but works in most pilafs and salads calling for freekeh.