fennel and lemon freekeh

I’m a bit in love with this fennel and lemon freekeh recipe and I think you’ll love it too. Whenever I think about this recipe I have the sound of Missy Elliot – Get Your Freak On playing in my mind, except I change freak to freekeh. So now it is in yours too. Sorry about that.

I first had freekeh at Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds where they served it with the most gorgeous lemony and herby roast chicken. As always once I got home, I set about recreating it.

So what is freekeh?

I realise you may still be wondering what the heck freekeh (pronounced free-kah) is. Well it has a texture very similar to bulghur, pearl barley or risotto rice. It is a lovely starchy alternative to the usual offerings. It is traditionally used in Arabic cooking and is a roasted then cracked green wheat. It is low on the glycaemic index and has four times the fibre and twice the protein of white rice. If you can’t get hold of freekeh you can easily substitute an equal amount of pearl barley or bulghur in this recipe.