Tomato freekeh risotto with labneh

I made this just so I could say to everyone at the dinner table: “Lets get Freeeeakay!” Freekeh is an ancient Eastern Mediterranean grain, made from roasted green wheat. Because the grain is harvested while young it has a far higher nutrient content, including more protein, than mature wheat. It has four times the fibre content of brown rice and a large proportion of the carbohydrate present is resistant starch. This means we can’t break it down and it passes through to the large intestine where it promotes the growth of the lovely good bacteria that keep the gut healthy. Freekeh also has a really low GI so it is ideal for controlling blood sugar levels and its a good source of iron, magnesium, thiamine, copper and zinc.

Credit: Jo Anderson

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 1 cup freekeh
• 1 cup red kidney beans
• 2 onions, peeled and finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup passata 
• 1 x 400 g tin diced tomatoes
• sea salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (see Note)
• ⅔ cup French lentils, rinsed well (see Note)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon, plus extra wedges, to serve
• 1 red capsicum, seeds discarded and finely diced
• 1 small dried red chilli
• 10 semi-dried tomatoes, sliced
• 1 small tub labneh (see Note)
• 1 small bunch (4-6 sprigs) of thyme, to serve

You will need to begin this recipe 1 day ahead.

Instructions

Soak the freekeh and kidney beans in plenty of water in separate large glass jars overnight.

When the freekeh and kidney beans are ready, drain and set aside.

Heat a large thick-based saucepan or a crock pot over medium heat. Cook half the onion and the crushed garlic in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil until soft. Add the vegetable stock, passata and tomatoes and bring to the boil before reducing the heat and simmering for 10 minutes. Add the freekeh and kidney beans. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and half the sweet smoked paprika. Cover and allow to simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, then add the rinsed lentils. Simmer for a further 20 minutes adding more vegetable stock if needed until the freekeh is just cooked through, and the beans and lentils are soft. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix through.

Heat a frypan on medium heat and cook the remaining coconut oil, remaining onion, capsicum and dried chilli until tender. Add the semi-dried tomatoes, season with remaining paprika, salt and pepper.

Serve the risotto with a few small labneh balls on each plate, a little of the capsicum mix and finish it all off with a sprig of thyme and a squeeze of lemon.

Note

• Labneh, also known as labne and labna, is a strained yoghurt and can be found in most delicatessens. If you can’t find it, substitute with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

• Sweet smoked paprika has a more intense flavour than regular paprika and can be found in specialty food stores.

• French lentils, otherwise known as lentilles du Puy, are small and green and don’t need to be soaked.

Recipe from The Luminous Kitchen by Jo Anderson, with photographs by Jo Anderson.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.