Freekeh is wheat that is harvested when it is still young and full of protein. The wheat is roasted and has a slightly nutty flavor and chewy texture. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, and is full of fiber. This dish is an easy dinner for 2 any night of the week.

2 chicken legs, skin on

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 scallions, tips trimmed

1 clove garlic, peeled

½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro

1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, and seeds removed

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon coriander

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

1 ounce apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or white wine

1 cup freekeh, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes

1 ½ cups chicken broth, at a light simmer

Optional garnishes: 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts and/ or fresh cilantro

Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Season well with salt and pepper and set aside.
Roughly chop the scallions, garlic, cilantro, and poblano. Transfer to a mini blender and start to blend. Pour in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and blend to a smooth paste, along with the spices.

Heat up a medium sized pot with the remaining tablespoon olive oil and sear the chicken legs, skin side down first, about 5 minutes. When they are nice and brown, turn them over and cook on the other side for another 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Drain off any excess oil and add the liquid to deglaze the pan. Rapidly scrape up any protein bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the freekeh and stir. Once the liquid has evaporated from the rice (1-2 minutes), add the herb paste and stir well. Cook for a few more minutes, then nestle the chicken pieces in the freekeh, and pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and cover. Cook until the broth has been absorbed and the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes.

Serves 2.

This chilli is very easy to make, as it uses leftover turkey and canned cannellini beans.  The strong pungency of white pepper is enough to flavor this whole chilli and give it heat.  The whole preparation takes no more than 20 minutes, and can be enjoyed for a few days. 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

¼ cup sweet onion, medium dice

¼ cup carrots, medium dice

¼ cup celery, medium dice

1 teaspoon ground white pepper, divided

2 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups veggie or chicken broth

1 bay leaf

¼ cup elbow pasta or small macaroni

1 ½ cups leftover turkey meat, shredded

½ cup shredded cheese, like manchego or cheddar

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized pan. Add the onion and garlic, followed by the carrots, onion, and celery. Cook on medium heat, stirring the veggies so they don’t brown, until they are softened. Add ½ teaspoon of the white pepper and cook for another minute or two, stirring. Add the beans and the broth and bring to a simmer with the bay leaf. Add the pasta and cook slightly covered for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Add the meat and cook just long enough for it to heat through, and season with the remaining white pepper.

Serves 4 people.

Sicily was under Arab rule for 400 years. The Arabs greatly improved the agricultural methods and introduced many crops to this fertile Mediterranean island. They also left many culinary traditions, one of which is the love of stuffed foods. This dish is for eggplants and red peppers stuffed with couscous, another Arab-Siculian legacy, which is seasoned with typical Sicilian ingredients. This may look long, but once you get the gist of what is going on it is quite easy. Feel free to increase the proportions of ingredients if you are feeding more people. We also encourage you to adapt the recipe to what you have on hand: substitute raisins for currants, salt and oregano for the Middle Eastern spices, and add capers and parsley if you do so please. You may also just want to use eggplants or just red peppers. If you use just red peppers, you may want to add some diced pepper where you would add the eggplant flesh in this version.

Olive oil
1 tablespoon raw shelled pistachios
1 tablespoon pinenuts
1 baby eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1/4 cup yellow onion, small dice
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Pinch cumin, coriander, and cinnamon
1 tablespoon finely chopped anchovies, or 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon dried currants
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
½ cup couscous
¾ cup vegetable or chicken broth, brought to a boil
Optional: 1 tablespoon bread crumbs + 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Heat up the oven to 375°F.
Slice off the top of the eggplant. Trim the tip of the bell pepper (you don’t have to take off the whole top). Slice both vegetables in half lengthwise.
Slice a cross-hatch pattern across the inside halves of the eggplant. Use a paring knife to slice away the white veins and seeds of the pepper.
Brush both vegetables with olive oil, inside and out, and place face down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the flesh of the eggplant is soft. Remove from the oven, and when the eggplant is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, while keeping the outer skin in tact.
Roughly chop the flesh.

Heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan over a medium high flame. Add the pistachios, and after about 1 minute add the pine nuts. Toast in the oil until light brown. Transfer the nuts to a plate and reserve.
Add the onions to the oil and sweat until soft, seasoning with a little salt along the way. Add the minced garlic and season with the spices.
Stir in the anchovies, lemon zest, currants, mint, and mix everything together well.
Tip in the couscous. Make sure the couscous is well mixed with the ingredients in the pan, and pour over the boiling broth. Stir and cover with a lid. Let steam for 5 minutes.
Scoop the couscous into the vegetable shells and top with either our Red Pepper Sauce, or simply garnished with mint.

Serves 2 people.

This is the basic equation for a healthy and delicious chickpea salad. You can use a nice quality olive oil and a variety of vinegars to dress it. It looks lovely when served on individual pieces of Romaine or in Butter Lettuce cups.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed
1 medium tomato, medium dice
1/4 cup red onion, medium dice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice
Freshly chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper

Mix together the chickpeas, tomatoes, red onion, parsley, olive oil, and vinegar or lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

And possible variations . . .
Mexican: diced avocado and chopped cilantro, minced jalapeno pepper, chopped peach or mango
Moroccan: freshly chopped mint, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika, minced preserved lemon.
Italian: Capers, anchovies, basil, sage.

Serves 2 as a main dish, or 4 as an appetizer.