The weekend before Christmas Ranchero Luis and I hosted a Christmas Party for all our friends. I had gotten a free 20 lb turkey at Thanksgiving time and wasn’t sure how I would use the thing with out wasting it. I decided to do a large scale “family dinner” where everyone would come over and feast on a bunch of food and enjoy the season. I had a few jars of preserved lemons in my fridge that I had made back in June after visiting my aunt in California.
Preserved lemons are a staple food in Morocco, so I went on my quest to find recipe inspiration that would utilize the preserved lemons. Turkey is mainly a North American food, but whole roasted chickens are found in almost any culture. So though this turkey was not “authentic” Moroccan, I was inspired by the flavors of traditional Moroccan food. Saffron, turmeric, ginger, preserved lemons and mint made this turkey incredibly moist, and irresistibly flavorful. I adapted the recipe from this gal, and may post the recipe later. 
To go along with turkey, I decided to utilize the bag of farro in my pantry. I usually try and post gluten-free recipes here, but this salad was way too tasty to pass up. Farro is an ancient variety of wheat, also known as emmer. Those with non-celiac, gluten sensitivity can sometimes tolerate this ancient variety, provided they have adequate gut health. It’s a deliciously nutty grain, with a bit of a crunch.
Couscous is a popular grain in Morocco, which also a type of wheat. So when I made this salad, I sort of went off a couscous dish that I saw a picture of. Like the turkey, this is not a traditional Moroccan food. But it has the flavor of Morocco in every bite.
This salad is served best at room temperature, but tastes so great straight out the fridge. It is NOT gluten-free or Paleo, but it is vegetarian and can be made vegan very easily. If you need to make this gluten-free, arborio rice might give you a similar texture. Just don’t overcook the rice and leave a little bite in the middle.
[yumprint-recipe id=’12’]
Elizabeth Horn 