Okay, guys, you are in for a treat! This is one of my (and my family’s!) all-time favorites in our entire arsenal of recipes. Delicate, yet remarkably filling, and ridiculously easy to make, it is a powerhouse of nutrition and flavor.

Now (wouldn’tchaknowit), while the original recipe on pbs.org (by brilliant chef Marc Matsumoto) is so delicious I want to scream, it also requires several hours of prep, and the ingredients can be quite expensive and difficult to source if you don’t have a readily-available Asian market. It’s a beautiful recipe for a calm-and-leisurely day off, when you got to sleep in until 11, and have just enough time now to finish that novel before you rush off to get your nails done. We will (fingers crossed) all have a day like that in our lives, but for me, today is not that day.

I simplified the recipe a bit for the sake of easy shopping and weekday cooking (should take you about 40 minutes, between active and inactive time), and added some arugula because I freaking love it. While the notes of flavors are not quite as complex, the result is still wonderful. I’ve made notes throughout the recipe regarding mushroom types, for example (there’s no point to being super organized and ready if you simply don’t have the awesome ingredients you need available to you!), and you can feel free to try the original recipe when you do have a little extra time to spare (it really is quite lovely, and easy to make, if you have the ingredients and the time).

But the main point I will make is this: do not skip the truffle oil. It is proportionally more expensive than regular ol’ olive, but you only need to buy a very small quantity, and its flavor is the heart of the recipe, particularly with the switcharoos we’re pulling on the mushrooms. In a pinch, you can also use truffle salt, though I prefer to control the taste of the truffle separately from that of the salt.

Finally, as chef Matsumoto suggests, if you don’t do eggs, you can always slice an avocado on top of the salad and call it a day.

*walks away from the keyboard feebly, leaving a trail of drool behind*

 

Warm Mushroom Farro Salad with Eggs
Write a review
Save Recipe
Print
Ingredients
  1. 6 cups vegetable broth
  2. 2 cups farro (about 12 ounces)
  3. 2 tsp salt
  4. ¼ cup olive oil
  5. 2 Tb balsamic vinegar
  6. 2 Tb champagne vinegar
  7. ½ tsp salt
  8. 2 Tb truffle oil
  9. 2 Tb olive oil
  10. 4 green onions, minced
  11. 10 ounces arugula
  12. 1.5 lb mushrooms – get a good handful of fresh shiitakes (or if you can only get dried, then cut them into bite-sized pieces and throw them into the broth with the farro), and then round out the rest of the quantity with whatever else you have available and in season (brown mushrooms do just fine! I usually fill out with a couple of oyster mushrooms and enoki as well)
  13. 4-6 eggs (1-2 eggs per person, depending on your family’s size and appetite)
Instructions
  1. Give the farro a quick rinse in a colander, and add it to a large stock pot along with the vegetable broth and 2 tsp salt. If you purchased dried shiitakes instead of fresh, add a couple to the broth here.
  2. Bring pot to boil over high heat. Once boiling, lower heat to medium-low to simmer, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes.
  3. While farro is cooking, whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, vinegars, salt, and truffle oil. This will be your ridiculously-amazing dressing.
  4. Heat a large pan and add 2 Tb olive oil and minced green onions, and sauté for 2-3 minutes until they begin to brown around the edges. Add all the mushrooms (except the dried ones, if you bought dried) and give them a quick stir to coat with the oil and to make sure the green onions aren’t stuck to the pan and burning. Then, leave them alone (I know, it hurts … but truly, just leave the mushrooms alone!) until they’ve released all those delicious juices and have reduced their volume by about half. May take 10 minutes or more, depending on your mushrooms, so check in on them, but don’t touch. They’ll be fine.
  5. At 20 minutes, check your farro, and give a grain a bite. If it’s not ready yet, leave on for another 5-10 minutes. If it’s a good texture for you (should feel like firm plump rice or barley), turn the heat off, and add the arugula, giving it a good stir. Put lid back on for a minute or two, just to wilt the arugula.
  6. Pour the dressing and the mushrooms over the farro, and add the mushrooms. Adjust the salt and pepper.
  7. Fry the eggs and serve one egg over each plateful of salad, with a little salt and pepper, and a little balsamic.
Emi Ponce de Souza https://www.emiponcedesouza.com/

OHMYFREAKINGLORD.

 

Because You Still Need to Eat