The year splits in two: tomato season, and the rest. That may sound like a binary way of measuring time, but the arrival of the first good tomatoes genuinely reorganizes my perception of time. And then there is this equation: tomatoes + sumac. Something almost alchemical happens between the ripeness of a tomato and the shimmering acidity of fresh sumac. I wanted a salad, but not just vegetables and then I remembered an ingredient I love but consistently forget: freekeh.
I can't be the only one. I've always wondered why we don't cook more often with this smoky green wheat. The story goes that freekeh was discovered by accident: a village in southern Lebanon was attacked, and the crops caught fire. After the siege, the villagers salvaged what they could and found, beneath the charred chaff, perfectly roasted grains. Freekeh was born.
The tradition took root mainly in the south of Lebanon. Today the practice has spread to the mountains of Akkar in northern Lebanon, where our sumac grows.
The word freekeh comes from the Arabic verb faraka, to rub: it is by rubbing the stalks by hand that the chaff falls away and the grain is revealed. (A beautiful piece by Jibal, a Lebanese NGO working for environmental and social justice, documents this tradition in Akkar.)
This salad was born from that encounter: a grain I had nearly forgotten, fresh sumac, and tomatoes in season.
Freekeh, tomato and sumac salad
Serves 3/4
Ingredients
400g freekeh
2 to 3 heirloom tomatoes (depending on size)
1 tbsp sumac (more if you like acidity, you can always adjust)
Basil
Olive oil
Salt
A handful of almonds
Optional: a good blackcurrant or balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- Rinse the freekeh under cold water. Cook in twice its volume of salted water (around 25 min). It should stay slightly al dente. Drain if needed and leave to cool a little.
- Cut the tomatoes into rounds or half-moons.
- On a large plate, combine the freekeh with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a little sumac. Taste and adjust salt.
- Lay the tomatoes on top, add salt and sumac.
- Halve the almonds and scatter over the plate with the basil leaves.
- Finish with a drizzle of olive oil over everything.
You can also add a splash of blackcurrant vinegar (or another red fruit vinegar) or balsamic, it pairs beautifully with sumac.