This is a very healthy vegetarian dish full of Mediterranean flavor. Freekeh is wheat that has been harvested while still very young, and thus is very high in protein, vitamins, and minerals. It has a slightly smoky flavor due to the way the wheat is processed after harvest, so it pairs well with mellow flavors, such as beans and chicken. This recipe calls for cooking the beans from scratch, but you can also use canned garbanzos for a faster version.

For the Garbanzos:

½ cup dried garbanzo beans, soaked at least 4 hours

1 bay leaf

1 clove garlic

1 sprig thyme

a few black peppercorns

For the Pilaf:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup yellow onion, small dice

¼ cup carrot, peeled, small dice

¼ cup fennel, small dice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

pinch of cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground coriander

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup freekeh, rinsed and soaked for 30 minutes

2 cups vegetable broth

Short Sauce:

1 ½ cups fresh cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped

1 cup parsley, rinsed and roughly chopped

1 sprig mint, leaves roughly chopped

½ cup pinenuts, lightly toasted

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste (about ¼ teaspoon)

For the Garbanzos:

Drain the garbanzos of their soaking liquid.
Place in a medium sized pot and cover with about 3 cups fresh water. Add the rest of the ingredients (you can place them in a bouquet garni bag if you want) and bring the water up to a boil. Simmer until the garbanzos are cooked through. Drain, remove the aromatics, and set aside.

To Prepare the Pilaf:
Heat up the olive oil in a medium sized pot. Sweat the onion, carrot, fennel, and garlic until the onion and fennel appear translucent. Add the spices and a pinch of salt, and stir for another minute or two. Drain the freekeh of its soaking liquid and add it to the pot. Stir everything together so that the freekeh is well integrated, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring gently. Pour over the broth and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and let cook for 30 minutes. Add the garbanzos and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the wheat is cooked through. Keep in mind that these are wheat berries, so they will have a slightly chewy texture and will not be completely soft.

Make the short sauce by blending all of the ingredients together until coarsely chopped, you do not want a smooth puree. Spoon a bit of the sauce into the pot and stir to combine. Serve while warm.

Serves 4. 

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.

Although Sicilian-style couscous uses the North African variety, this version uses Sardinian couscous, which is called Fregola Sarda. Fregola sarda is a larger variety, and also toasted in its production process, which accounts for its darker coloring and nutty flavor. There are three parts to this dish: making the fish broth, cooking the vegetables, and preparing the "short" pesto. Feel free to variate the vegetables according to the season, and to combine oily and flaky fish in making the broth. It is quite hearty, but full of healthy ingredients, making it perfectly satisfactory on all levels.

Fish Broth:
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, small dice
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig oregano or thyme
2 medium tomatoes, medium dice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chicken broth in powder
6 cups water

1 ½ lbs fresh sea bass or another white- fleshed fish, cut in 2 inch pieces
Half a dozen shrimp
½ lb scallops, foot removed and quartered
Pesto:
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup fresh basil
½ cup Italian parsley
½ teaspoon lemon zest
½ lemon, juiced
Salt

Couscous and Vegetables:
1 500g package fregola sarda
2 zucchini, small dice
1 yukon gold potato, small dice
1 red pepper, roasted, peeled, and cut in small dice
½ fennel bulb, small dice
1 preserved lemon, minced (optional)

In a large pot, heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and sweat until translucent. Add the fish, celery, bay leaf, oregano, tomatoes, and tomato paste.
Sprinkle over the chicken broth and cover with 6 cups water. If using broth, just cover with the broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. While the fish is simmering and creating its broth, shell the shrimp and add the shells to the broth.
Reserve the shrimp and scallops for later.

Meanwhile, blanch the potato, zucchini, and fennel (each separate from the other) in a pot of boiling water.
Drain and combine all together in a bowl.

Make the pesto by grinding all of the ingredients together in a small blender or food processor. Season well with salt.

After about 30 minutes, remove the fish pieces from the broth and set aside on a plate. Season with salt and pepper. Strain the broth into a bowl and transfer back to the pot. Bring to a boil and add the fregola sarda. Cook for about 15 minutes, or until cooked through but with a slight bite. Season the shrimp and scallops and add to the pot (the liquid should still be at a light simmer). Add the blanched vegetables, red pepper, preserved lemon, pesto, and reserved fish.
Gently stir the pot and ladle into bowls, distributing the fish, couscous, and broth evenly.
Serve with toasted bread.
Serves 8 people.

Moghrabiyyeh is a Middle Eastern whole grain similar to couscous, only bigger and more round. We like to cook it in a verdurous spinach broth, which gives it a lovely color and texture perfect for Spring.

Olive oil
½ medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed
½ teaspoon coriander
Dash of cumin
2 cups spinach broth (see blog)
1 cup moghrabiyyeh, rinsed
1 handful organic asparagus
Salt and pepper

Bring the spinach broth to boil in a saucepan.
Heat up the olive oil in a medium sized pot. Add the onion and garlic and sweat until translucent. Add the spices and a good dash of salt and stir for another minute or two. Add the moghrabiyyeh and stir to coat with the oil and spices. Pour in the spinach broth and bring the pot to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
Meanwhile, gently tug on the hard bottoms of the asparagus stalks to find their natural breaking point. Discard the thick bottoms and chop the stalks in medium sized pieces. Keep the spears whole. Cook the stalks and spears for a minute or so in a pot of boiling salted water and drain.
Once the moghrabiyyeh has cooked through, stir in the asparagus stalks, reserving the spears for a garnish.

This is a side dish that serves 4 people. It goes well with simply grilled fish and meat.