When it comes to soup, I like it hearty and loaded with vegetables and this Freekeh Vegetable Soup from the cookbook Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen by Adeena Sussman checks all the important boxes for me. “It’s not all palm trees and hot beaches; Tel Aviv has a winter, too, bringing hard rain and strong winds that practically make you beg for a bowl of soup,” Adeena writes in Sababa.
A Cookbook Worth Treasuring
Sababa is one of the most used and tattered cookbooks in my home. I’ve made more than 20 recipes from it in the six weeks I’ve owned it, and I have yet to find one that didn’t work or I didn’t absolutely love. The book was published in 2019, and I stumbled into it through our Summer Cookbook Club.
What Is Freekeh?
Freekeh is readily available in most grocery stores and Middle Eastern food markets in the US. In standard grocery stores, you are likely to find it in the health food, global food, or grain sections of the store. “Freekeh (smoked, cracked wheat) adds both body and flavor to this [soup]. Though most wheat in Israel is imported, a small amount is harvested locally every spring,” Adeena writes in Sababa. “In Arab communities, prized young green wheat is picked and dried in the field over wood to create freekeh (pronounced “freaky” in Israel), a beguiling grain that can be used a million ways (though some of the freekeh I buy here is local, much of it is imported from Turkey). If you throw in a little extra, its starch makes the soup grow thick, so that one minute you have a normal broth and the next you’re looking at almost-porridge . . . but in the best possible way. The freekeh adds just a wisp of smoky flavor, as though a blown-out match had passed through each spoonful for a second.”
Swaps and Substitutions
This soup, like most soups, lends itself well to substitutions. If you can’t find freekeh try:
BulgurQuinoa (although the soup won’t be as thick)Small pastas like orzo
Vegetables:
Kohlrabi for potatoesYellow summer squash for zucchiniParsnips for carrots
Can You Freeze Freekeh Vegetable Soup?
Although I think most soups freeze well, I draw the line at soups with tender summer squash like zucchini. Freezing breaks them down a little too much for my taste. If you skip the squash, this soup would freeze beautifully.
More Great Soup Recipes!
Minestrone Soup Easy Tuscan Bean Soup Kale and Roasted Vegetable Soup Vegan Mushroom and Barley Soup Chicken Pozole
Learn More About Adeena Sussman and Israeli Cooking
Q & A with Cookbook Author Adeena Sussman The Beginner’s Guide to Israeli Cooking Ingredient Spotlight: Tahini 5 Specialty Kitchen Tools for Cooking Israeli Food at Home
