RecipeTin Eats x Good Food: Crispy carrot freekeh salad

Name: RecipeTin Eats x Good Food: Crispy carrot freekeh salad
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4 as a main
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 315g (1½ cups) whole freekeh; ¾ tsp cooking salt

Nagi Maehashi

September 5, 2022

Toasted freekeh salad topped with crispy carrot.Nagi Maehashi

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:4 as a main

Freekeh is an unsung hero in the grain world, with a nutty smoky flavour that is infinitely tastier than rice. Have all the elements prepared then assemble the salad just before serving.

Ingredients

Freekeh

315g (1½ cups) whole freekeh
¾ tsp cooking salt

Crispy carrot

4 medium carrots, peeled
750ml canola oil

Salad

3 tightly packed cups of roughly chopped kale
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 celery stalks, sliced 3mm thick
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped mint
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp finely chopped preserved lemon peel* (see note)
1 tsp cooking salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
2. To toast the freekeh, spread the grains onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 8 minutes, shaking the tray halfway through. This brings a lovely nutty flavour to the freekeh.
3. Transfer toasted freekeh to a medium saucepan. Add the salt and 4 cups of water. Cover with a lid then simmer gently on medium-low heat for 35 minutes, until most of the water has been absorbed and the freekeh is cooked but still firm. Strain in a colander then spread on a tray to cool.
4. For the marinated kale, place the leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil then scrunch with your hands to soften the kale and coat the leaves in the oil. Set aside for 30 minutes to soften.
5. To make the crispy carrot, peel the carrots into ribbons using a vegetable peeler – any width is fine. Heat the oil in a large saucepan to 185C. Deep-fry the carrot one handful at the time for 1 minute or until golden brown. Untangle and spread out on a tray lined with paper towel. Repeat with remaining carrot, ensuring the oil is back to temperature each time. The carrot strips will crisp up as they cool, and will stay crisp for 1 to 1½ hours.
6. To assemble, toss the cooled freekeh, marinated kale and remaining salad ingredients together in a large bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl, top with a tall mound of crispy carrots and serve.
*Note: Preserved lemon is lemon that has been pickled in salt, which brings out a lovely mellow citrus flavour. Scrape off and discard the flesh and white pith – we only want to use the yellow peel. Rinse, pat dry then finely mince with a knife. Don't have preserved lemon? Use fresh lemon zest instead.
This recipe features in Nagi's vegetarian feast