Freekeh Shorba with Chicken

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Ahead of time, rinse the grains in a strainer.

   Colander
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
3. 3
   Add the onion and celery and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
4. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
5. 5
   Add the carrot and fry another 3 minutes, stirring.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

To assemble

1. 6
   Add the chicken, stock, turmeric and cumin and bring to a boil. Turn down to low and simmer 20 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
2. 7
   Remove the chicken from the pot and pull it into pieces.

   KnifeCutting board
3. 8
   Add the grains to the pot and cook 25 minutes, until the grains is tender.

   Stove

   💡Noodles and grains cooked in the soup absorb its liquid and keep softening: add them only at the end, when the soup is ready.
4. 9
   Return the chicken meat to the pot, season with salt and black pepper and the lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. 10
   Ladle the hot soup into bowls, with the vegetables and the meat.
6. 11
   Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top.