Morel, Asparagus & Wild Arugula Farro Salad with Preserved Lemon Dressing
Source: Maria Finn, Forage. Gather. Feast.
Recipe Type: Salads | Seasons: Spring
This recipe appears in Forage. Gather. Feast. by Maria Finn (Penguin Random House, 2024) and was demonstrated in the Foodwise Classroom on April 26, 2025.
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
10 lemons
1 cup kosher salt, divided
¼ cup preserved lemon peels, rough chopped
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup pearled farro uncooked or 3 cups cooked
2 cups morel mushrooms, sliced circular
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh chives
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch asparagus (thicker stalks)
2 cups wild baby arugula
Preserved lemon dressing or fresh lemon juice and zest with olive oil to dress
Shaved aged/hard cheese like Vella Jack
Edible flowers like borage or nasturtium or chive blossoms to garnish
PREPARATION
- To make preserved lemons: Choose the four best-looking lemons and slice off the tips where the branches held the lemons, and then slice them into six segments, but don’t cut all the way through; they should stay attached at the base. Sprinkle salt between the segments and add 2 tablespoons of salt to the bottom of a jar Juice the remaining lemons. Put the segmented lemons (and I use some of the rinds from the juiced lemons) into the jar, pressing them down so they all fit. Cover them all with lemon juice. You may need to juice more lemons. Shake the jar every few days. These are salt and acid, so don’t need to be refrigerated, but will last longer if you do so.
- To make preserved lemon dressing: Puree the preserved lemons and olive oil with a blender or hand mixer. If it feels too thick./ you can add a little water to make it thinner.
- To make the salad: Cook the farro in 3 cups lightly salted boiling water until al dente. Strain and cool on a tray. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- If you don’t have preserved lemons, make a dressing with 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest, 3 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice, and olive oil.
- Finely chop thyme and chives herbs and mix together.
- Rinse the asparagus and remove the woody bottoms. Shave or slice asparagus into thin rounds. Rinse the arugula. Slice the morels. Shave the cheese.
- Sautee morels in olive oil. Add thyme, chives, salt, and pepper. Set aside and let cool if there’s time.
- Place the cooked farro, asparagus, arugula, and morels into a bowl and toss with preserved lemon dressing or juice and zest from two Meyer lemons and a tablespoon of olive oil and pinch of salt. Finish with shaved cheese and garnish with flowers if you’d like.
