🍗 Freekeh with Chicken

Name: Freekeh with Chicken
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Levant · Middle East
Ingredients: 250 g whole or cracked freekeh, rinsed; 1 kg chicken pieces; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 tsp seven spices (baharat); ½ tsp cinnamon; 2 tbsp olive oil; 30 g almonds; 30 g pine nuts; Salt and black pepper

Origin: Levant · Middle East

623kcal

per serving · 350 g

178kcal

per 100 g

38 gProtein11 g / 100 g

21 gFat6 g / 100 g

70 gCarbs20 g / 100 g

Freekeh with chicken is a festive Levantine dish of smoky green wheat cooked in spiced broth with onion until tender, then crowned with pieces of chicken and a generous scattering of toasted almonds and pine nuts. The grain is chewy and nutty, with a distinctive smoky aroma. It is served on a large platter for family gatherings and Ramadan meals.

Diets

✓

No porkfor halal, the meat must be halal-slaughtered

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

High protein11 g protein per 100 g — 25% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: chicken

Not veganbecause of: chicken

Contains glutenbecause of: freekeh

Not keto20 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Tree nuts

What it is made of

freekehchickenonionalmondspine nutsspices

Recipe

4 servings70 min

Ingredients

250 g whole or cracked freekeh, rinsed
1 kg chicken pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 tsp seven spices (baharat)
½ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp olive oil
30 g almonds
30 g pine nuts
Salt and black pepper

Method

Simmer the chicken in about 1.2 l of salted water with half the onion and the spices for 35 minutes; keep the broth.
Soften the remaining onion in 1 tbsp oil, add the freekeh and stir for 2 minutes.
Add 750 ml of the hot broth, cover and cook on low heat for 25–30 minutes until tender.
Brown the chicken pieces in the oven at 220 °C for 10 minutes while the freekeh cooks.
Toast the almonds and pine nuts in the remaining oil until golden.
Spread the freekeh on a platter, top with the chicken and scatter with the nuts.

How to make it lighter

Nuts are calorie-dense — use a small handful for the whole platter rather than per plate.
Remove the chicken skin and skim the broth fat before cooking the freekeh.
Serve with a cucumber and tomato salad to add volume to the plate.

History

Freekeh, wheat harvested green and roasted, has long been part of the cooking of the Levant and Egypt. Freekeh with chicken is a well-known dish today in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, often prepared for guests and holidays.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →