Freekeh Pilaf Salad with Grilled Vegetables

I wonder why grain salads are not any more popular. They are simple to make and can last 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. The chewy texture and nutty flavor make grain salads versatile and adaptable to whatever seasonal vegetables are available.

This pilaf recipe complements freekeh’s smokiness and chewy nature with grilled vegetables and fistfuls of fresh herbs dressed in a zingy lemon vinaigrette. The simple preparation is excellent when life is hectic. The bonus is the salad is filling and palate-pleasing.

This recipe demonstrates how grain salads adjust to fit different moods or diets. For example, most grains can be replaced with quinoa or buckwheat and achieve the same results if gluten is a concern. The vegetables are also interchangeable, depending on where you live and what’s in season near you. If you prefer, you can use a tasty vegetable broth instead of oil to reduce fat intake.

This kind of versatility proves…at least in my mind…that grain salads are enormously important in a healthy plant-based diet because of their simplicity, nutritional impact, little preparation time, and few dishes to clean up. What’s not to like about that?

Difficulty: simple to moderate
Yield: makes about 4-6 servings