Bright, fresh & flavorful, you’ve got to try my Mediterranean Freekeh Salad. Freekeh is a high-fiber whole grain food that cooks quickly & tastes delicious!
It’s been such a crazy week you guys.
Busy and fun, but crazy. My kids and I are in Minnesota and they are at Korean Culture Camp. It’s been so great and fun seeing them learn and interact and get excited about being Korean and learning more about their culture.
On Wednesday, I left for a quick day trip for work and am flying back to Minnesota today. . I have airport gifts in hand to thank my sister and brother-in-law for watching the kids. . Are airport gifts lame? Depends on what you get right?
When Paul used to travel a lot for work, he would always bring home a magnet from the city he was in. The girls loved it and our refrigerator was filled with them.
Don’t worry, I didn’t get my sister a magnet.
Traveling is fun but I can’t wait to get back home. Last week, before I left I made this Mediterranean Freekeh Salad. I love food like this. Food that you can make, leave in the fridge, let the flavors marinate and it tastes even better the following day. I ate this for like 3 days in a row for lunch.
I am in love with this freekeh salad.
Have you guys heard of freekeh? Freekeh is “a flavorful, high-fiber whole grain food that cooks quickly and tastes delicious. Freekeh (also known as farik or frikeh) is the name for roasted young wheat, and it is a traditional food of the Middle East and Northeastern Africa. Organic Cracked Freekeh cooks up in just 25 minutes for an easy, quick whole grain addition to your dinner table. This organic roasted green wheat has a subtle smoky flavor and pleasantly chewy texture, which makes it ideal for satisfying side dishes like savory salads and spiced pilafs. For a hearty hot cereal, try a bowl of cracked freekeh topped with milk, honey, nuts and fruit!”
Totally trying this for my next hot breakfast!
Freekeh is absolutely delicious. I could’ve just eaten this plain, with just extra virgin olive oil and salt and a touch of red wine vinegar. It’s that good and I love the texture of this whole grain.
But I couldn’t just make a plain pot of freekeh could I?
This Mediterranean Freekeh Salad is an explosion of flavors in your mouth. Like, the most delicious explosion. You really don’t need a lot going on with the dressing. . just extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, a fresh squeeze of lemon if you’d like and salt and pepper. You want the ingredients to shine and as you take each bite and taste the pepperoncinis, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, black kalamata olives and the delicious freekeh, you are in heaven.
And yes, we have a giveaway down below. . because EVERYONE needs to try freekeh.
More hearty salads —
Mediterranean Freekeh Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup organic cracked freekeh
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil + more for drizzling
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- kosher salt to taste
- freshly cracked pepper
- 1/4 cup diced sun dried tomatoes
- 1 zucchini unpeeled and diced fine
- 1 small red onion peeled and diced
- 1 to mato chopped or diced
- 1/4 cup diced pepperoncini peppers
- 1/3 cup whole greek kalamata olives pitted and sliced in half
- 2 to 3 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups fresh arugula
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese + more for garnish if desired
- 1/2 lemon optional
Instructions
- Using a heavy bottomed pot or medium sized sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Add the Organic Cracked Freekeh, reduce the heat to low and partially cover with lid. Let simmer until the liquid has absorbed, for about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for about 30 minutes. Once cooled, lightly drizzle just a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on some kosher salt. Mix and set aside.
- Using a small bowl, whisk together the 1/4 cup olive oil, red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust any ingredients as needed and set aside.
- Using a large mixing bowl, mix together the sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, red onion, chopped tomato, diced pepperoncini, olives and parsley. Add the cooked freekeh, fresh arugula, dressing and crumbled feta cheese. Mix together again and right before serving, squeeze on just a touch of freshly squeezed lemon juice if desired. Enjoy immediately.
The Giveaway!!
Giveaway only open to residents within the United States
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting me in working with the brands that I use and love.
Haven’t tried it but your recipe looks delicious!
I haven’t, but I’d love to try it!
I have not tried it yet, but would like to!
I’ve never heard of it before. I will have to look for it in my local stores.
This salad looks devine and no, airport gifts aren’t lame! I have bought the cutest things from duty free airport shops 🙂
I have got to get my hands on freekeh! It looks fabulous and this salad is amazing 🙂 Pinning!
Airport gifts are the BEST! When I had to rush home to Indy for one day, I bought my kids “cow tipper in training” t-shirts at the airport. Best shirts ever.
I’ve heard of freekeh, but I’ve spent more time trying to figure out how to make stupid jokes with the name of the grain than how to cook with it. But it looks really good, so now I’m going to have to stop messing around and actually try it. Fabulous salad!
Sounds like you’ve had a busy week, Alice! I love Minnesota, my family and I used to go way up north when I was younger. This salad looks delicious! I’ve never had freekeh before, so I’m loving the looks of this!
Love the flavours and the use of freekeh in this salad!
Yay, so glad the girls are having so much fun at camp. I LOVE airport gifts, they always put a smile on my face 🙂 And so does this salad! It’s so beautiful especially with the nutty & chewy freekeh! It’s the perfect healthy meal to make after all the traveling! Love the idea of making it for breakfast too! Happy Friday and safe travels today Alice!
I absolutely love freekah! The nutty flavor makes for such awesome summer salads…like this Mediterranean version. I’m thinking lunches next week are solved! Oh, and what airport gift did you get? You have me wondering now…haha!
I have never made or bought freekeh before but this salad wants me to have it like right now !! Thanks for this awesome giveaway!
Oh man, I was away this week too, and it is SO nice to be home!
I’ve actually never tried freekeh, but have been wanting to! This salad is going to have to be the start! Pinned!
Oh this is my kind of salad! I love when stuff tastes better the next day (or even two days later!). That’s a win. And I love freekeh! I need to remember to use it more often.
You have definitely had a fun and fantastic week indeed! What an amazing recipe to cap it off with.
I think it is so great that your guys have so many different camps to learn about different things. I wish we had more of that here in the UK.
Oh, and everything with feta is good with me.
I have an unopened bag of freekeh in my pantry! And I LOVE anything mediterranean. This looks like my favorite Greek salad but with the added heartiness of whole grains. Perfection!
Airport gifts are great! I have a magnet from Ireland. It’s a total airport gift and I love it. This salad sounds like something I need to try. Love the mediterranean flavors.
I”m definitely have to going to try Bob’s Red Mill freekah. I love their stuff, so this is something I have yet to see in my local market. And when I do get some, I can’t wait to try your recipe.
We used to eat a lot of freekeh – but then my daughter developed a gluten sensitivity – but I do love salads that marinate and taste better the next day – these flavors sound wonderful Alice! And airport gifts are not lame at all!
I had never heard of freekeh before! This looks like a food I need to try!
This looks delicious and something I need to make really soon! It looks like such a satisfying salad!
Looks so, so good! I’m a huge fan of freekeh.. All the grains really, but that one is one of my faves. Gorgeous salad Alice!
Wow, you have had a crazy week, but I’m glad it’s a good kind of crazy! Airport gift are fun and can actually be quite hillarious… what did u end up getting?! You never did say, and I’m nosy! Lol!! This salad looks freekeh-n amazing (<– HAD to). I love Mediterranean flavors and I bet they pair wonderfully with yummy grain! Pinned! Can't wait to try this, Alice… especially since I can make a big 'ole vat and eat it for days! Cheers to that! Happy weekend!
hey Cheyanne!!! I ended up buying my nephew a t-shirt that said “Arkansas” and my girls and niece a Hello Kitty doll with an Arkansas t-shirt and knowing my sister, who’s not big on airport gifts, I ended up buying her and my brother-in-law dinner friday night in Minneapolis. . good times and thank you for the comment! 🙂
I have never tried this before, but I am definitely intrigued! The freekah looks absolutely delicious in this dish!!
I have never tried freekeh, but I would love to try it. It definitely looks delicious.
I haven’t tried it yet, but I want to I love trying new grains!
No, but I’ve always wanted to!
I need to get my hands on some freekah! Love the looks of this salad, Alice! Looks delicious!
I haven’t tried it yet, but I would love to.
I have not tried freekah but I keep hearing about it from Ottolenghi
I’ve seen a lot of fun pics of you on IG etc. – figured you were having a busy week! And how have I never tried freekah? That must be remedied pronto! This looks gorgeous + delicious!
I haven’t tried it yet, but I would love to!
I have never tried ….but would love to
I have never tried Organic Cracked Freekeh.
I love making big bowls of salads and then enjoying the leftovers later too! I definitely agree how they taste even better the next day. This sounds amazing Alice, and I love the addition of Freekeh, I haven’t tried that before. I definitely need to now! 🙂
I’m glad you guys are having fun in Minnesota! This salad looks delicious, packed with awesome ingredients! I haven’t experimented with Freekeh much, but would love to. Pinning!
I’ve never tried freekeh, but it definitely sounds like something I’d like! Bob’s Red Mill products are always good.
I have tried most grains, but never heard of this before.
Omg now I totally need to try freekeh!!!! This salad sounds absolutely amazing!
haven’t tried freekeh, but would love to.
Chocolate and wine are my favorite airport gifts! I also really love freekeh and love this Mediterranean salad. Safe travels back home, Alice!
I have this love/hate relationship with traveling and am happy there wasn’t a lot of it this summer. Paul’s last job had him on a plan all.the.time. Neither of us miss it. LOVE the salad – perfectly light and bright for summer! Bob’s Red Mill is just the best.
I have never heard of Freekeh. I tend to eat quinoa so it would be exciting to try something new.
I’ve never tried Organic Cracked Freekeh before.
I have to make this salad for lunch this week, I’m loving the colors and textures!
I love the looks of this salad, Alice, and the freekeh sounds amazing! This is so full of everything I love, and I wish I had a bowl for dinner right now. 🙁
I’ve been wanting to try. This just makes me want to go to the store now!
No, but I would love to.