If there’s one thing the team has learnt during five years of PJ Library in the UK, it’s how much our families love a good child-friendly recipe! We got in touch with five of our favourite cooks who shared their FIVE ingredient recipes to help celebrate FIVE years of Jewish bedtime stories. We’ve let them have those store cupboard essentials (olive oil, stock cubes, salt and pepper) and after testing these ourselves, feel confident it won't just be our own families enjoying these delicious foods.
Roasted Carrot Freekeh Salad
Freekah is a super grain, a wheat that is harvested whilst still young and green. It is roasted over an open fire; the inside grain is firm, slightly chewy and has its own distinct nutty and smoky flavour. It has been a staple grain in Middle Eastern diets for centuries but is now having an international revival. Loaded with nutrients, high in fibre and protein and low in fat, in fact superior to quinoa, but of course not suitable if you are gluten free!
Use bulgur wheat as a tasty alternative to freekeh if you can’t find it.
This is a colourful healthy vegan salad suitable to enhance any main course and enjoy as it is.
Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 40 minutes Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 500g Chantenay carrots – not peeled but trimmed
- 3 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 250g Freekah plus 2 tablespoons vegetable stock powder
- 2 tablespoons dukkah (available at leading supermarkets)
OPITIONAL: dressing suggestion: mix lemon juice, tahini, coconut yogurt and parsley
Preparation:
- Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6.
- In a bowl, toss the carrots with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cumin seeds, cinnamon and some seasoning.
- Roast on a baking tray for 20-30 minutes until cooked through and golden at the edges.
- Place the grains in a saucepan. Add 500ml water and vegetable stock powder.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and leave for 10 minutes to complete the cooking.
To serve, if using dressing, stir half of the dressing through the cooked grains with the parsley and half the carrots. Top with the remaining carrots, sprinkle with the dukkah and drizzle over the rest of the dressing.
About Denise
Denise Phillips has written seven cookbooks. Through her books, columns and master classes she has developed a tasty collection of Jewish food, and her enticing and stylish recipes are an original blend of the old and the new.
Denise has regular and popular 'hands on' cookery classes that provide inspiration and new skills plus Date on A Plate, her unique cookery classes for singles is an excellent way of networking, cooking and meeting new people.
She also runs corporate events suitable for company’s entertaining clients or team building for staff through cookery classes. They are a memorable culinary way to improve better working relationships and enhance business.
For more information on Denise, her events, charity work, Gift vouchers and cook books see www.jewishcookery.com or contact her direct on 07803 895 341.
January 27, 2020