Shorbat freekeh

Method

1. 1 Boil chicken thighs with cinnamon, star anise, and onion for 35 minutes, then shred the meat and reserve the broth.
2. 2 Vo freekeh several times to wash away any remaining dust and ash from the roasting process.
3. 3 Sauté the freekeh with butter and baharat for 4 minutes until the grains absorb the butter.
4. 4 Pour in the chicken broth and cook for 25 minutes; freekeh expands less than rice, so the soup will still have some loose grains.
5. 5 This is a soup, so the water should be four times the amount of grains, unlike freekeh which is a thick, rice-like chicken soup.
6. 6 Add the shredded chicken, squeeze in some lemon juice, and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 40 min

  Replace step 4: cook under high pressure for 10 minutes, then quickly release the pressure; the freekeh grains will remain separate if not stirred vigorously.