Smoky freekeh with peppers, beans and sweetcorn

Freekeh is quite a new acquaintance for me, but I'm already head over heels for it, not just for its health benefits. Freekeh is an ancient grain, unripe wheat that has been through a process of roasting, where it has obtained a lovely smoky flavour. It's full of fiber and protein, which makes it a perfect veggie supplement.

Last week I made this spicy freekeh dish with beans, sweetcorn and peppers (please note that the recipe is for quite a large amount and can be scaled down). I think that this was a perfect mid-week dinner, which transformed into a great lunch for the next day. I will be making much more this kind of dishes in the future now that I'm hooked. This basic recipe is vegan, I only added halloumi to the serving, but it's optional.

Ingredients

1 cup smoky freekeh

1 tbsp vegetable stock powder

1-2 bay leaves

2 bell peppers

3 shallots

3 garlic cloves

240 g red kidney beans

240 g sweetcorn

1 tbsp olive oil

½-1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

A sprinkle of salt

Fresh coriander to taste

Method

Rinse the freekeh and cook it in water with added vegetable stock powder and bay leaves until it's done. This takes about 20 minutes.

Chop the bell peppers, shallots and garlic and start cooking them in olive oil.

Add the beans and sweetcorn to the pan with the spices (chilli flakes, smoked paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander and salt).

Let it cook until you're happy with the flavour and textures.

Add the freekeh to the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes more.

Just before serving, add the fresh coriander.

On the side I served just a little bit of salad and fried halloumi slices.

Enjoy and have a good week!

Your VegHog