Celery Salad

I try to shy away from recipes where I end up buying a lot of ingredients and only use a little bit of each thing, but I always end up with a bunch of celery in my fridge. This salad (adapted from a recipe in this Ina Garten cookbook) is a great way to make use of it and a nice change up from the celery and almond butter snacks I’ve been having. It can be a pretty bland vegetable, but the sharp lemon and celery seed vinaigrette bring out an inherent sweetness. And to be honest, anything covered in shavings of Parmesan cheese and toasted nuts is going to taste good. It’s a unique side dish that works well with almost anything and it’s worth making even if you don’t have a celery surplus in your fridge.


Celery Salad with Parmesan & Walnuts:
For Dressing

• Whisk together 1 minced shallot, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 3-4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp. celery seed, salt, and pepper.
• Set aside.

For Salad

• Very thinly slice 1 bunch of celery* and toss with 1 tbsp. lemon juice. Let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
• When ready to serve, toss celery with the dressing and arrange on plates.
• Top with 2 oz. shaved Parmesan cheese and a handful of toasted walnut halves.**

Serves two-four (side dish)

*Tender leaves included. Discard any super tough stalks.

**To toast nuts, place in a dry pan over low heat for 5-7 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly browned.