I love cooking this recipe both for functions where lots of family and friends will be around, but also if we have a big week ahead as it lasts really well in the fridge. It’s really hearty, but still tastes really fresh. You can swap the cavolo nero for curly kale with similar results. If you’re planning on eating it the same day, you could also use baby spinach, however it doesn’t seem to last as long (goes soggy quickly with a bit of dressing around).
Freekeh is a gluten-containing grain, made from roasted durum wheat, so if you have a wheat allergy, have Coeliac Disease, or are sensitive to gluten, you can swap it up for quinoa or brown rice (or even riced cauliflower), and it will still be delicious. Freekeh can easily be found at health food stores, and many large supermarket chains now stock it, so you shouldn’t have any trouble.
I also love this recipe because, even though it has a fair few ingredients, it’s pretty quick to throw together. I’ve popped a few notes at the bottom for a few great swaps, but basically, when you’ve made it once, you’ll get the vibe and can mix and match with whatever nuts, seeds, grains, greens and leftovers you have around.
You’ll also find this recipe (and loads more) in my upcoming ebook THIRTY, which is a bit more than a recipe book that explores the benefits of eating 30+ plant foods a week. You can check out my blog post here for a bit of a preview. Sign up to the newsletter (at the bottom of the HOME page) to be the first to know when it drops!
Ingredients
1 cup freekah (quinoa, brown rice or cauliflower rice for grain or gluten free)
1/2 cup Puy (French) lentils
1 cup broccoli
½ bunch Tuscan cabbage (cavolo nero), thinly shredded
1 bunch coriander (leaves and stems), chopped (or other leafy herbs – additional parsley, mint, chives, dill, etc)
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds
2 tbsp toasted slivered almonds (or additional seeds for nut free)
2 tbsp baby capers
1/2 cup currants
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp extra virgin olive
Sea salt to taste
100g halloumi, sliced, optional
1 pomegranate, deseeded
Instructions
- Cook freekah and lentils separately in boiling water until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Place broccoli in a food processor and pulse until about the size of rice (do this with cauliflower too if you’re using instead of grains).
- In a large bowl, place the ‘riced’ broccoli, shredded Tuscan cabbage, coriander, parsley, red onion, toasted nuts and seeds, capers, currants, lemon juice and olive oil. Stir through the cooled freekeh and lentils. Mix well and season to taste. Set aside.
- In a medium fry pan, fry the halloumi slices (in a little olive oil if necessary) until golden. Chop into smaller bite-sized pieces and stir through the salad. Top with pomegranate seeds to serve.
Add more plants #diverse30:
- Grain swaps: quinoa, brown rice, millet, buckwheat, cauliflower or broccoli rice.
- Greens swaps: curly kale, rocket, silverbeet, baby spinach, shredded Brussels’ sprouts or additional broccoli rice.
- Fresh fruit swap: red grapes, blueberries, finger lime, red currants.
- Leftovers + additions: roasted vegetables such as pumpkin or sweet potato, avocado, grilled chicken.
- Dairy swaps: roasted chickpeas, tofu, tempeh, vegan feta.