Freekeh Soup

This soup, which uses very coarsely ground smoked durum wheat, has long been a staple during the bitter cold of winter, when shorter days added to the chilly darkness in poorly heated homes. The best description of the process of making freekeh is provided by Amanny Ahmad, in an essay, ‘Freekeh and Fellahin: A Symbiotic Relationship of Sumud’:

Young green durum wheat is harvested during a brief window of a week or two: typically, at the end of spring, beginning of s