Freekeh^TM Breakfast

1 or 2 Granny smith apples
one box of 400gm Freekeh
cinnamon
any dried fruit you like (ie raisens and apricots) as much as you like.

Method

1. First cook the whole grain Freekeh (or cracked grain Freekeh for some variation). All you need to do is to empty the whole box of grains in a pot and cover with water plus a little more (Freekeh can not be over cooked and is very resilient). Cook for about 35 minutes or so until the grains are soft. If using cracked Freekeh only cook for about 15-20 minutes. (One other possibility is instead of cooking the Freekeh to simply soak it overnight in the fridge with water with a towel on top)
   
   
2. While waiting for the grains to cook, chop and dice one or two apples (no need to peal and Granny smith are best). Place the diced apples in a dry pot on low heat and stir for about 1 -2 minutes. Add only less than 1 teaspoon of water. Add cinamon and stir for one more minute. Wash as many dried fruits as you like (dried appricots and raisens are good) and add to the apples. Stir for 1 more minute or so.
   
   
3. Tip the fruit mixture over the already cooked grains and mix well. Let cool. Place in the fridge. The breakfast cereal should keep for 10 days or even more (I have used out of my fridge after 2 weeks and all was ok).
   To eat. Take a scoop or two of the mixture add some milk and put some wallnuts or cashew nuts or both on top. Heat in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes.
   
   
4. Remove from the microwave and place a dolop of vanilla yogurt in the middle.

In the summer you do not need to heat in the microwave and only use the yogurt without the milk... but then again you may come up with new variations to this recipe....

Try cooking the Freekeh in apple juice and serve as a breakfast cereal.

FreekehTM Soup  1 cup uncooked Freekeh TM (whole or cracked grain)  4 tbs. olive oil  1 onion, finely chopped  150g lamb loin, in 1 cm cubes  1 1/2 teaspoon harissa (a garlic, chili, and olive oil puree)  1.5 litre chicken stock    2 tightly packed cups baby spinach leaves, washed and dried  1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander  juice of 1 lemon  1 tomato diced  salt and pepper

Method (serves 4) 
Heat oil in saucepan and fry onions and lamb until light golden.  Add harissa.  Add Freekeh ^TM and coat grains well.  Slowly add chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes or longer, until grains are tender.  When ready to serve, add the tomato, lemon juice, spinach leaves, coriander and season to taste.  Simmer for another 5 minutes.  Serve in soup bowls while hot.  Garnish with fresh coriander.

Method (serves 3 loaves) 
To make the topping, mix all of the ingredients together. To make the yoghurt and zucchini loaves, soak the cracked Freekeh for 2 hours. Sieve all of the dry ingredients together into a bowl. Add the grated zucchini and all the remaining ingredients to the mixture and mix on a slow speed for 8-10 minutes, or until a smooth, clear and moist dough is formed. Divide the dough into 3 x 800g pieces and place each of the pieces into a 12cm round sponge tin. Press the dough into each tin, to create a flat, even surface. Brush the top of the dough pieces with some cream and sprinkle with the topping. Allow the dough to prove for 90 minutes, then bake in a 200°C oven for 45 minutes. When baked, remove the loaves from their tins and cool upside down on a rack. Cut into wedges to serve.

Method (serves 1 cake) 
To make the lemon cheese fudge icing, soften the cream cheese and butter, then mix together with the caster sugar for 2 minutes on a medium speed.Add the lemon juice and mix for a further 1 minute, or until the juice is evenly spread through the mixture. Sieve all of the dry ingredients into a bowl. Add all of the remaining ingredients (except the walnuts) and mix together on a medium speed for 5 minutes, then on a fast speed for a further 1 minute to form a batter. Add the crushed walnuts to the batter and mix in by hand.
Place the batter in a paper lined tin 18cm wide x 35cm length x 6cm depth. Bake at 190°C for 60-70 minutes. Decorate the top of the cake with the lemon cheese fudge icing and cut into slices to serve.

Method (serves 10) 
In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cooked Freekeh , peanut oil, crab meat,
snapper, red onion, egg yolks, tabasco sauce and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and
pepper. Beat the egg whites until they form a soft peak. Fold the egg whites into the crab
mixture, then form into 10 patties. Fry the patties in hot oil on both sides, then finish cooking in an oven. To make the aioli, slice the top of the garlic bulb and roast in an oven at 160°C until the
garlic is soft. Squeeze all of the cloves out of the bulb. In a food processor, blend the garlic,
lemon juice and egg yolks. Slowly add the olive oil to emulsify. Season to taste. To assemble, place a Freekeh crab cake onto a plate and serve with a dipping bowl of the aioli and some potato wedges. Garnish with some fresh herbs.

Warm Prawn and FreekehTM Salad 500g Freekeh 1 bunch Curly endive 1 bunch Spring onions 500g Tomatoes 10g Thyme leaves 500g Prawns 2 lt Fish stock 60 mls Olive oil DRESSING 400mls Extra virgin olive oil 50mls Verjuice (or lemon juice) 1 each Garlic clove Salt and black pepper to taste

Method (serves 10-12)
To make the dressing, mix the verjuice and the olive oil. Mince the garlic with the salt and add to the verjuice/oil mix. Season with the salt and freshly ground black pepper. To make the salad, soak the Freekeh in cold water for 4 hours then drain. Place the Freekeh and thyme leaves into a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, skim, then simmer until the Freekeh is just soft. After washing, slice the spring onions and pick the endive.Wash and quarter the tomatoes and remove the seeds. Cut the tomato flesh into small dice. Clean the prawns and poach in the fish stock. Remove the prawns from the stock and keep warm. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or wok. Toss the prawns and Freekeh into the oil and add all of the remaining ingredients. To serve, place some salad greens onto a serving plate and place the prawn and Freekeh salad on top. Finish by pouring over some dressing.

Roast Loin with Rosemary and Garlic Scented FreekehTM Pilaf 3 each Lamb racks, frenched Salt and pepper Peanut oil Freekeh Pilaf 500g Freekeh 1 lt Beef or chicken stock 75mls Peanut oil 50g Garlic cloves, crushed 25g Fresh rosemary, finely chopped 1 each Bay leaf Salt and pepper to taste

Method (serves 6-8) 
Season the lamb racks with salt and pepper. Seal each of the racks in a pan with a little oil, then wrap in alfoil. Finish cooking the lamb racks in a 130°C oven until cooked. To make the Freekeh pilaf, sweat the garlic in oil in a frypan, then add half the rosemary. Fry until aromatic.Add the Freekeh , bay leaf and stock, and bring to the boil. Cover the
frypan with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven at 180°C until tender. Adjust the seasoning. To serve, place some Freekeh pilaf onto a plate. Carve the lamb into cutlets and place on top of the pilaf. Finish the dish by pouring over
some of the remaining lamb roasting juices.

Freekeh^TM Stuffing

1 cup uncooked cracked Freekeh^TM, soaked overnight in equal amount of cold water 1/2 cup fresh (or 1/4 cup dried) herbs (a mixture of mint, thyme, chives, and basil); 1/2 cup dried apricots, finely chopped 1 lg. Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and grated 1 medium onion, finely chopped coarsely ground black pepper and salt to taste 2 eggs

Method
To stuff one small/medium turkey or large chicken.
Drain and squeeze the water from the Freekeh^TM.  Crack eggs into a bowl and gently whip until yolks and whites are completely blended.  Mix all other ingredients and Freekeh^TM together , then add egg mixture and stir in thoroughly.  If you have time, stuff the bird or meat several hours before cooking to allow the flavors from the stuffing to blend into the meat.

Freekeh^TM Honey Slice

250g Rolled Oates
200g Ground Freekeh
175g Wholemeal self raising flour
100g Raw sugar
125g Coconut
155g Butter
40g Honey

Method
Combine oates, freekah, wholemeal flour, sugar and coconut in a bowl.
Melt butter and add the honey, mix into the dry ingredients until the mixture clings together.
Press evenly over the base of a well greased 28cm x 18cm tin.
Bake in a 180ºC oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
Cut into slices while hot, remove from tin when cold.

Freekeh^TM and Mushroom style Risotto

100g Butter
100ml Olive oil
1 Leek (trimmed, cleaned and finely sliced)
50g Oyster mushrooms, chopped
50g Button mushrooms, chopped
50g Swiss brown mushrooms, chopped
50g Shitake mushrooms, chopped
50g Shimeji mushrooms, chopped
50 Enoki mushrooms, chopped
20g Parsley, finely chopped
2 Cloves garlic, chopped
1Lt Chicken stock
1 Onion, peeled and chopped
250g Freekeh (whole)
Salt and black pepper
Cream to adjust consistency

Method
Heat 50g of the butter and the oil and saute the leek, add the chopped mushroom over low heat and cook for 5-10 minutes. Stir in parsley and garlic and set aside.
Bring chicken stock to the boil and keep on low simmer.
Add remaining 50g of butter and oil and saute the onion until soft ut not coloured, and the wheat and stir well to coat the grains in oil.
When the wheat starts to sick to the bottom, pour in the boiling chicken stock, a ladle at a time, stirring constantly adding more stock when the liquid has been absorbed.
Continue in this manner until allthe stock has been used.
Add the mushroom mix into the wheat risotto and continue to cook for a few minutes allowing it to heat through.
The mixture can be made creamy by adding cream, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Serve risotto plain or with shaved parmesan cheese and fresh basil.

Freekeh^TM Salad

Method (serves 4)
Toss all the ingredients together. Coat lightly with dressing. Toss thoroughly and serve at room temperature as a side dish.

Freekeh^TM Kibbies

Method (serves 4)
Mix all ingredients together well and and knead for 5 minutes or until the mixture comes together. Shape into balls or partties (size as required). Brush lightly with extra olive oil and bake in a moderate oven (180ºC or 360ºF) for 15-20 mins until firm and golden ( cooking time will depend on size of kibbies).
Can also be cooked on a grill/barbecue plate.

Savoury Freekeh^TM with Prunes and Apricots

Method (serves 4-6)
Heat oil in a heavy pot. Fry onion, garlic and pinenutsuntil very lightly golden. Add cardamon pods, cinnamon stick, cloves and coriander. Fry gently for a further 2 minutes. Add Freekeh , stock/water, apricots and prunes. Bring to the boil. Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on a low heat for 20-25 minutes until Freekeh is tender. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Serve hot to accompany fish, lamb or poultry dishes. Great also as a stuffing for chicken and turkey.

Sundried Tomatoes and Fried Olive Cakes

Method
Bring chicken stock to the boil and slowly add Freekeh in a steady stream. Over a low flame, stirring regularly, continue to cook the mixture 15-20 minutes. Take the mixture off the heat and add olives, tomatoes and butter and mix well. Add cream and cheese and season to taste. Note: Garlic or herbs may be used as well at this point. Grease a suitable mould and pack wheat mix in tightly. Cover with buttered grease proof paper and cook at 180ºC until golden brown. Ideally serve as a garnish with Mediterranean style chicken or chargrilled steak. For this recipe the Freekeh was cooked in a small cake tin. The mixture was 3cm high and portioned into 12 wedges.

Freekeh^TM Salad 

4 cups cooked Freekeh ^TM (whole or cracked grain) 
6 medium tomatoes, diced 
1 medium continental cucumber, diced 
4 spring onions, finely sliced 
1 small red capsicum, finely sliced 
1 cup chopped parsley 
1 1/4 cup chopped mint 

Method (serves 4-6) 
In a large bowl, combine Freekeh^TM, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, capsicum, parsley and mint.  Whisk together the dressing ingredients and add to the salad.  Mix thoroughly and let stand for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to integrate.  Serve in a salad bowl as a  side dish at a barbecue, with grilled fish or cold meats.