A fresh and colorful grain salad with a balance of sweet, tart, salty and herbaceous notes. Works as a side dish, an easy lunch or a winning potluck offering.
I’m teaching a class at the Chicago Botanic Gardens this weekend on how to make and use preserved lemons. Each student will make a jar of preserved lemons to take home and then I will demonstrate how to use preserved lemons in a delicious farro salad.
Preserved lemons are one of my culinary obsessions as evidenced by the fact that there is a recipe for preserved lemons in both of my cookbooks. (It is really hard to write two different recipes for preserved lemons, folks. That’s why they pay me the big bucks.)
Preserved lemons are an easy DIY project – they just require a bit of patience as they will need to spend several weeks in a cool, dark place to soften and cure. But you can also buy them at Trader Joe’s, grocery stores with a good selection of global ingredients or a Middle Eastern market.
When faced with a preserved lemon, people inevitably ask: “What can you do with them?” Well, what can’t you do with preserved lemons? They work in just about any Middle Eastern or North African inspired dish. You can add a little preserved lemon to a vinaigrette, to a grain salad, to a vegetable-based pasta dish — not those with tomato sauce – even to stews and braises. Any dish that could use a jolt of puckery brininess.
This particular grain salad is a winner in my book because it combines two of my favorite pantry ingredients: farro and preserved lemons. I am a little obsessed with farro, an ancient form of wheat that is once again trendy. Grains of farro are about the size and shape of rice, but pale brown in color.
With twice the fiber and protein of modern wheat, farro is exactly the kind of whole grain that we should be eating. Unlike some whole grains, it does not need to be soaked and cooks quickly, making farro ideal for nutritious weeknight meals or easy packed lunches. Let me assure you, however, that I am obsessed with farro not because of how healthy it is, but because of this ancient grain’s nutty taste and springy, al dente texture.
To make this colroful and heathy grain salad, I dress warm, cooked farro with a preserved lemon vinaigrette, which contributes a rich, briny umami to the blank canvas of the farro. I then add fresh herbs like mint and parsley, sweet-tart dried cherries, crunchy scallions and some crumbled salty feta. The goal is for each bite to be a little sweet, a little sour, a little salty and satisfyingly chewy.
I am looking forward to teaching the students at my upcoming class all about the magic of preserved lemons and then digging into this farro salad with them. If you can’t make the class — you know, because you live somewhere othet than Chicago — I hope I have convinced you to seek out preserved lemons where you are. And then make a tasty grain salad!
Ingredients
- 2 cups farro
- 6 cups water or broth
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 TB minced preserved lemon rind
- 2 TB minced shallot
- 6 scallions, white and light green parts only, sliced
- 3/4 cup dried cherries, halved
- 1 oz mint leaves, cut into ribbons
- 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley
- 4 oz feta, crumbled
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse farro and then combine with broth or water in a large saucepan. Add salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer until farro is tender, about 20 minutes.
- Drain and allow to cool slightly.
- Make the dressing by combining lemon juice, olive oil, preserved lemon and shallot in a small bowl and jar. Shake or whisk to combine.
- Dress the farro while it is still warm - it will absorb the dressing better. Then allow farro to cool completely. (Can be made ahead up to this point.)
- Prior to serving, fold in scallion, dried cherries, herbs and feta.
- Taste and adjust seasoning.
