Freekeh (sometimes spelled frikeh) or farik (Arabic: فريكة / ALA-LC: farīkah; pronounced free-kah /ˈfɹiːkə/) is a cereal food made from green durum wheat (Triticum turgidum var.

It is an ancient dish derived from Levantine and North African cuisines,[1][2] remaining popular in many countries of the eastern Mediterranean Basin, where durum wheat originated.

[4][6][7] For instance, in the Book of Kings II, it is said that Elisha miraculously fed about a hundred people with some barley bread and carmel.

In his 1865 book The Land of Israel: A Journal of Travels in Palestine, British clergyman and scholar Henry Baker Tristram documented the preparation of freekeh near the Sea of Galilee:Many fires were lighted on the shingle by the shores of the lake … A few sheaves of wheat had been brought down from the fields above; these were tossed on the fire, and as soon as the straw was consumed, the charred heads were dexterously swept from the embers onto a cloak spread on the ground.

[9][10] In Tunisia and Algeria, freekeh is usually prepared as a main ingredient in a tomato-based soup called Chorba frik and is considered a traditional food.

[13] In Palestine (region), a variety of freekeh pilaf is made with lamb, onion, olive oil, raisins, dried cherry plums, almonds, pine nuts, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and salt.