wheat with orange blossom water

Wheat flavoured with orange blossom and rose water for a grey day to celebrate St Barbara’s Day on the 4th December. A bowl which bears little resemblance to its Scottish cousin, porridge. Studded with pomegranates and nuts, flavoured with orange blossom and rose water, qamhiyeh as it’s called in Lebanon, is an altogether different bowl of health giving grain. 

In the fourth century Barbara, the daughter of a wealthy man from Baalbeck, converted to Christianity against her father’s wishes. Running away to escape his torture, as she ran through wheat fields, according to popular myth, the wheat grew to cover her tracks. Sadly, in the end she died a gruesome death at the hands of her father. 

Since she fled through a wheat field, qamhiyeh is traditionally made with wheat, but you could also use barley. Given that eating more whole grains is good for us, this recipe is a delicious way of brightening up a bowl of something healthy. We used pearled spelt, a nutty grain which the Roman army called their “marching grain” because it is a good source of slow release energy. Soaking it overnight helps speed up the cooking, but keep it slightly al dente for a more interesting texture. The nuts should be soaked too, they’ll be easier to digest. Besides the skin of the pistachios and the almonds comes off more easily. 

We have used a recipe from Nada Salah’s New Flavours of the Lebanese Table. It makes enough for 6.