We are having a little fling with Meyer lemons. A friend brought us two whole bags of organic Meyer lemons from California, and we're putting them to good use. First that lusciously easy pie, and now a grain salad that could be a side dish, main dish, lunch or dinner. It has all that herbal fragrance of Meyer lemons, along with the spring freshness of crisp asparagus spears, hearty grains, and a bit of cheese smeared through to hold it all together. Oh, and toasted almonds for crunch, too.
We really, really like the mix of grains in this recipe. Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Blend is a great base, and we added chewy spelt too. We used the Trader Joe's 8-ounce package (it includes a little dried green and red pepper, but this didn't seem to affect the flavor too much). Farro is also a great choice for a salad like this.
Omit the cheese and you have a vegan dish, too. This is hearty enough for a main dish for lunch, and the grain gives it a filling heft without being overly heavy.
The textures are just very enjoyable - soft and silky grains, chewy spelt, crisp asparagus, soft cheese and crunchy almonds. The flavor of the lemon soaks into everything; if you don't have Meyer lemons just use whatever lemons you can get your hands on.
Meyer Lemon Grain Salad with Asparagus, Almonds and Goat Cheese
serves 68 ounces uncooked spelt or farro
3 cups water
8 ounces uncooked pearl couscous, or Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Blend
1 3/4 cups water
1 pound asparagus
Olive oil
1 cup sliced toasted almonds
4 ounces soft goat cheese, chilled and crumbled
2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon walnut oil
Salt and pepper
Cook the spelt or farro in a large saucepan or sauté pan over medium heat, adding one cup of water at a time and stirring until absorbed before adding more. Keep cooking and stirring until the grain is al dente and dry with no water remaining to be absorbed.
Meanwhile, simmer 1 3/4 cups water in a small saucepan. Add the Harvest Grains blend, stir, cover and turn to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes, then remove the lid and cook, stirring, until any remaining moistness evaporates. Mix the two cooked grains in a large bowl and set aside.
Snap off the woody ends of the asparagus and cut each spear into a 2-inch piece. Rinse out the large sauté pan and dry. Heat a little olive oil over medium heat, and cook the asparagus until just barely crisp-tender - about 1-2 minutes. Add to the grains and toss.
Also toss in the sliced toasted almonds, goat cheese and lemon zest.
Mix the Meyer lemon juice with the oils, taste, and adjust. Pour over grain salad and toss, along with salt and pepper to taste.
This salad lasts very well in the fridge; the herbal flavors of the Meyer lemons bloom nicely when it sits.
(Images: Faith Hopler)
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this looks delightful
I'm gonna try it tonight!
This is also excellent with different vegetables! I've made this sort of recipe (with farro) all summer with green beans, peas, roasted carrots... Sometimes I use the juice of half an orange which is nice with the goat cheese.
Just wanted to let you know I tried this salad and it is AMAZING! Yum. A great use for the millions of Meyer lemons on our tree! :)
I am completely going to try this one tonight!!! It might offset the snow we are getting in March and make me feel like there's a little spring on it's way!
http://www.carinagardner.com
We made this with farro and Israeli couscous. Delicious! It made a HUGE amount - served as a side dish at a dinner for 8, and we barely got through a third of it.
OM NOM NOM. Just made this - used conventional lemons and omitted the spelt (couldn't find it at the store). Delicious. If you use non-Meyer lemons, I'd recommend one instead of two. The goat cheese also melted when we tossed it - next time I might chill the grains and serve cold. More time for the flavors to mingle anyway.
Made this recipe last night. I was very pleased with the outcome - however I wasn't so pleased with the cost of farro! Expensive!
I happened to have half a bag of the Trader Joe's Harvest Grain blend sitting around. This salad is great, but the harvest grain blend is a little funny- if cooked correctly, the lentils in it are completely raw. Did anyone else notice this? Or did I do something wrong?
I love love love this recipe, and I want to make it for a pregnant friend. Any suggestions to substitute for goat cheese?
This looks amazing. I've been making big salads like this for a week's worth of lunches, and this looks like one I wouldn't get tired of after a few days.
This was my first meyer lemon dish and I thought it was great. I used barley instead of farro and israeli couscous, but otherwise followed the recipe. The almonds were a must, but I loved the flavors and the textures. Now, if I only knew what to do with the rest of my meyer lemons!
I just made this with arugula instead of asparagus. A delicious side dish for grilled fish!
@skbdvm - TJ's Harvest Grain Blend has mini garbanzo beans in it that look like lentils. Mine still had some bite to them but they were definitely cooked through.
This is delicious! I loved how none of the flavors dominated the others. My only wish would be if the grain-cooking could be somehow consolidated, e.g.: cook 8 ounces of spelt with x cups of water for x minutes, then add the Trader Joe's Harvest Grain blend and cook for x more minutes. It felt like a lot of pans to dirty for a grain salad, even though I used the same skillet to saute the asparagus that I used to toast the almonds.
Still -- this tasted light, lovely, and springy -- just what we needed in the doldrums of March!
Ooh I have asparagus goat cheese and lemons in the fridge right now. I might make this with quinoa though because I have a ton of it!
Looks great. Why is there not a save option for recipes on this site? Print? Odd.
I made this yesterday...excellent! I didn't have meyer lemons so used 2 regular (I like it very lemony). I also added scallions. I think I would add italian parsley next time for color and flavor.
What a perfect recipe for outdoor events in the summer western heat (100++degrees not unusual!). Thanks! Plan to make with farro, and take to picnic next week!
My family had a gigantic Meyer Lemon tree in our backyard when I was growing up. no better lemon than a Meyer-- I am making this for dinner tonight!
Couldn't wait to make this.......husband won't touch goat milk so grated his standby smoked gouda...........it was great will do this again while the asparagus are fresh and local