Winter pilaff with red onions, leeks and olives

This dish was born from some huge red onions I picked up at the farmers market yesterday. Almost the size of swedes and with glossy purple skins, they were the stand-out buy on the vegetable stall, not to mention being cheap as chips (actually much cheaper, gram for gram).

Then there were the leeks that were lingering in the fridge, waiting to be used up. Both leeks and onions are faithful winter favourites, which just needed a bit of fire adding to them. Lemon zest, olives and chilli flakes did the trick, followed by toasted flaked almonds for some nutty crunch. I had some dill in the fridge left over from another dish, but flatleaf parsley, basil or mint would work nicely too.

The heft of the dish comes from wheat berries, a nutty wholegrain I haven't used for a while. But feel free to swap the wheat berries for another grain - pearl barley, brown rice, freekeh or bulghur wheat would all work well.

There's a bit of cooking time, but not too much active preparation time. It's well worth making double so you have leftovers. It makes a great packed lunch, either reheated or at room temperature.

Ingredients

Serves 4

500g whole wheat (also called wheat berries or natural wheat)
4 bay leaves
3 red onions
2 leeks
1 tbsp olive oil (optional)
8 - 12 cloves garlic, whole and unpeeled (optional)
24 olives, destoned - black or green or a mixture
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
Zest of half a lemon, finely chopped or grated
1 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste

Method 

Rinse the wheat, and cover with plenty of water. Add the bay leaves, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for around an hour, or until tender (it will still retain some bite).

While the wheat is cooking, preheat the oven to gas mark 6/ 200C/ 400F. Cut each onion in half root to tip and then each half into four wedges. Place on a baking sheet, I don't always use oil to roast onions, especially if using a non-stick tray, but if you want to, drizzle a little oil over. Put in the oven.

Next, wash the leeks well and then cut into lengths about 2.5cm (1in) long. Place on another baking sheet, and drizzle with the rest of the oil, if using. If you're using garlic, add the whole cloves to the same tray.

Bake the leeks and onions for 25-30 minutes or until soft - the onions will probably need a bit longer than the leeks, but you've hopefully put them in the oven first. Peel the garlic cloves, if using. Keep the veg warm until the wheat is ready.

Toast the almonds in a dry pan over a fairly high heat for a minute or two until just starting to brown - keep a close eye on them, or they will burn as soon as your back is turned. Turn off the heat - they will most likely brown a little more in the residual heat from the pan.

To serve, spoon some of the whole wheat onto a plate or bowl. Scatter the lemon zest and chilli flakes evenly over each portion, then add the leeks and onions, followed by the dill and flaked almonds. Eat hot, warm or at room temperature.