Freekeh, Shredded Collards, and Your Favorite Fruit

Ingredients

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup (170 g) uncooked freekeh

2 cups (480 ml) water

Kosher salt

1 bunch (about 10 oz/280 g) collard greens

½ bunch scallions, trimmed including ½ inch/1.5 cm off the green tops), sliced on a sharp angle, soaked in ice water for 20 minutes, and drained well

2 to 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

Dried chile flakes (or fresh chiles when in season)

3 cups (510 g) chunks or slices ripe fresh fruit

½ cup (70 g) roughly chopped lightly toasted nuts

Directions

Heat a glug of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the freekeh, and toast, stirring frequently, until it smells toasted and smoky, a good 5 minutes. Add the water and 1 teaspoon salt, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer until the freekeh is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. If the freekeh is tender but there's liquid left, just drain it off; if the water has been absorbed but the freekeh isn't fully tender, add a few tablespoons more water and keep cooking until tender. Cool completely.

Cut out the thick midrib from each collard leaf and compost or discard it. Stack a few leaves on top of one another and roll them into a tight cylinder. With a sharp knife, slice across the roll to cut the collards into very thin strips (this is called a chiffonade).

Put the collards in a large bowl along with the freekeh and scallions and toss to mix. Pour on the vinegar and ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, toss again, and season with about ½ teaspoon salt, a few twists of black pepper, and a big pinch of chile flakes. Toss.

Add the fruit and toss again gently. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper, chile flakes, or vinegar. Top with the nuts and serve right away.

Notes

I love the way the gentle smokiness of the freekeh plays with tangy, succulent fresh fruit in this salad. Here I'm using apples, with pecans as the nutty accent, but other combinations are an option, too: plums and walnuts, strawberries and peanuts, peaches and almonds. —Serves 4 to 6