Spiced Freekah Pilaf
with Roasted Vegetables and Tomato Salsa
A great source of dietary fibre, iron and zinc, freekeh is a green grain made from young durum wheat which is roasted or smoked then polished to remove the shells. With its distinct nutty, smoky flavour, freekeh can be cooked like rice, making it a go-to ingredient for things like this healthy spiced pilaf. The tomato and herb salsa keeps the flavour fresh, whilst the addition of chickpeas, chopped pistachios and roasted veg make this a deliciously hearty and filling dish.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
Ingredients
1
Aubergine
(May contain Celery)
1
Cauliflower
½
Chickpeas
2
Ground Cumin
1
Sumac
1
Echalion Shallot
½
Red Chilli
100
Freekeh
(Contains Cereals containing gluten)
1
Vegetable Stock Powder
1
Flat Leaf Parsley
1
Mint
125
Premium Tomato Mix
1
Lemon
25
Pistachios
(Contains Nuts May contain Sulphites, Sesame, Nuts, Peanut)
Not included in your delivery
1
Olive Oil
200
Water
Nutritional information
Utensils
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Trim the aubergine and halve lengthways. Chop each half into four long strips then chop widthways into roughly 3cm pieces. Chop the cauliflower into florets (little trees!). Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a sieve.
Pop the cauliflower and aubergine on a lined baking tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle on the ground cumin and half the sumac. Rub the flavourings all over the veggies and arrange in one layer. Roast on the top shelf of your oven until soft and nicely browned with burnt edges, 25-30 mins. Halfway through cooking, add the chickpeas to the tray and turn everything to make sure it browns evenly. Meanwhile, fill and boil your kettle.
Halve, peel and chop the shallot into small pieces. Halve the chilli lengthways, deseed then finely chop. Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until soft, 4-5 mins. Add a pinch of chilli and the freekeh and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the boiling water (see ingredients for amount) and stock powder. Bring to the boil then turn the heat to low, pop a lid on and cook for 15 mins, then remove from the heat and leave to rest for 5 mins.
Meanwhile, roughly chop the parsley (stalks and all). Pick the mint leaves from their stalks and roughly chop (discard the stalks). Halve the cherry plum tomatoes. Zest and juice the lemon. In a bowl, combine the lemon zest, juice, herbs and tomatoes with the olive oil (see ingredients for amount). Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Take the pistachios out of their shells and roughly chop.
Fluff up the freekeh with a fork and gently mix in half the salsa. Pop the freekeh pilaf into bowls and top with the roasted veggies and chickpeas. Sprinkle over the pistachios, remaining sumac, any remaining chilli (if liked) and the other half of the salsa. Enjoy!
