Soak the freekeh in cold water for 10 minutes, then rinse and drain before placing in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until the freekeh is soft but with a slight bite and the water has been absorbed into the grains, turn off the heat and leave to steam for 10 minutes with a tight-fitting lid.

Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan of boiling salted water and parboil on a medium heat for 5 minutes until al dente, drain and place in a roasting tray, season with salt, liberally pour over olive oil and plenty of za’atar, then place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the florets are soft and charred at the edges, remove and set aside. “I’m known as the freekeh queen to my friends,” said Nieman.įreekeh with Roasted Cauliflower & Tahini Dressing (serves 4-6)įreekeh with roasted cauliflower and tahini dressing from Ruth Nieman’s ‘Freekeh, Wild Wheat & Ancient Grains’ cookbook (Courtesy Ruth Nieman) She often uses it in place of other grains, whether in soups or salads. That said, the biggest change to her own diet is the use of many grains in her food, particularly freekeh, the title grain that Nieman said was part of the first recipe ever written down in the 13th century. In keeping with the heavy dose of sourdough activity in the book, Nieman said she did her share of sourdough baking over the course of the pandemic, and hardly touches white bread any longer. “I wanted people to discover these grains and work with them and use them for part of their diet,” said Nieman. She recommends the latter be made with wild garlic picked in “woodland and gardens.” But the book also has recipes more common to Nieman’s native England, such as the wholemeal emmer wheat and walnut cob, or wild garlic and cheddar spelt scones. There’s a mix of recipes more familiar to the Mediterranean table, such as Khorasan flatbreads with za’atar, and freekeh salad with pistachios and labane dressing. The cover of Ruth Nieman’s latest cookbook, ‘Freekeh, Wild Wheat & Ancient Grains’ (Courtesy Prospect Books) Wild, ancient wheats such as emmer, thought to have been the flour used in the biblical matzah, was discovered in the 1940s at the foot of Mount Hermon and jaljuli, another old grain, was later found near Masada, but they don’t have big yields, and Israeli bakers have generally relied on imported wheat.īut in recent years, bakers like Ben Yehuda and others have increasingly turned to lesser-known grains such as einkorn, or spelt, which is grown only in cold climates such as Ukraine, imported and then milled in Israel, or freekeh, a local grain that is roasted and is sometimes compared to bulgur. Nieman relied on artisanal bakers such as Ben Yehuda to research her new book, “Freekeh, Wild Wheat & Ancient Grains” (Prospect Books) about what she calls the “land to the plate” process of discovering and cultivating wild wheats and ancient grains, and understanding what they add to the modern meal. “The idea is not to use just one kind of grain, but to create a mix of imported flour and ancient grains,” said Ruth Nieman, a British-born food writer, who was serving as a guide to Ben Yehuda’s bakery.

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