Jewelled Butternut Squash Freekeh
By OcadoLife
Published on 12 June 2022
Award-winning British-Iranian chef Sabrina Ghayour created this Jewelled Butternut Squash Freekeh recipe. Freekeh is a whole grain from the Middle East and Africa that’s similar to nutty-tasting bulgur wheat but with a hint of smokiness. Sabrina has combined it with zhoug (a hot, green herby sauce) for a bold blast of flavour that complements the subtly spiced butternut squash.Time and servings
1 hrTotal time
8Servings
15 minsPrep time
45 minsCooking time
Ingredients
- 2 butternut squash (approx. 1kg each), each cut into 8 wedges
- 2.5 tbsp of olive oil or vegetable oil, plus extra to drizzle and pour
- 4 tsp of ground cumin
- 4 tsp of paprika
- 2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 400 g of freekeh
- 4 tbsp of tomato purée
- 75 g of salted butter
- 150 g of dried apricots, thinly sliced
- 100 g of dried cranberries, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp of cumin seeds
- 6 cardamom pods, seeds extracted
- 60 g of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 60 g of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 green chillies or 1 long red chilli
- 0.5 lemon, juiced
- 200 g of feta
- 100 g of pomegranate seeds
- 50 g of pine nuts
- 2 tbsp of cook with m&s crispy onions
- 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, plus 3 whole cloves
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Put the squash on 1-2 lined baking trays. Drizzle with oil, rub in 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp paprika and 1 tsp cinnamon; season. Roast for 45 mins.Step 2
For the freekeh, heat a lidded pan over a medium-high heat. Add the oil and onions; cook for 5 mins. Add the sliced garlic, cook for 1-2 mins, then stir in the freekeh; season. Add 2 tsp paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1tsp cinnamon and tomato purée; mix to coat the grains. Stir in the butter until melted. Add 800ml cold water, cover and simmer for 20 mins, or until the freekeh is cooked but has bite.Step 3
Stir in the dried apricots and dried cranberries, cook for 10 mins more, then remove from the heat.Step 4
For the zhoug, toast the cumin seeds and cardamom seeds in a dry pan over medium-high heat for 1-2 mins. Whizz in a food processor with 3 whole garlic cloves, flat leaf parsley, coriander, chillies and lemon juice; season and pour in enough oil to give a loose consistency.Step 5
Spread the freekeh on a platter; top with squash. Drizzle with zhoug; crumble over the feta. Scatter with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and crispy onions.