Freekeh Salad with Butternut Squash and Raisins (Recipe #120)

I have to say that America’s Test Kitchen Vegan for Everybody cookbook has a lot of great salads with a grain base! This recipe for a freekeh salad was just delicious! It had the right amount of sweetness and freshness.

This salad called for just a few ingredients. I cooked freekeh according to the package directions. I roasted cubed butternut squash seasoned with salt and pepper until it was just beginning to char. While the freekeh and butternut squash were cooling, I made a dressing of lemon juice, tahini, water, garlic, oil salt, and pepper. I combined the freekeh, butternut squash, cilantro, and walnuts with the dressing. I also added in raisins after they were soaked in hot tap water for about 5 minutes. This was a great grain salad and it was filling.

This was my first time using freekeh. This grain reminded me a little like barley and a little like bulgar. The recipe explains how this is a common grain that is used across the Mediterranean and North Africa. It is a very unique grain and has a very specific taste. This may sound silly, but to me it tasted very earthy. I like this taste and it went well with the butternut squash and raisins, but I did not love the taste. I would make this salad again, but I would replace the freekeh with bulgar.

Taste: 8/10

Level of difficulty: 1/5

Notes for next time: I would like to switch out the freekeh for bulgar next time.