Slivered Celery and Walnut Salad

DESCRIPTION

“This impressive salad is an addictive mix of sweet, salty, and crunchy ingredients. Furthermore, hardlikearmour’s technique of soaking the celery in ice water provides some the crispest celery you’ve ever eaten. This dish comes together in no time at all and makes an often overlooked vegetable shine. You will be glad you made it!” – Food52 Editors

Total Time
10 Mins
Serves
4
Meal
Dinner Lunch
Course
Appetizers Side

Total Time

Prep Time
10 Mins
Cook Time
0 Mins
Total Time
10 Mins

Nutrition

Calories
490 cal
Total Fat
41 g
Polyunsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
680 mg
Carbohydrates
29 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Protein
8 g

Ingredients

For the Raisin Anchovy Dressing:

  • 1/4 cup golden raisins
  • 2/3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 tablespoon anchovy paste (or 6 anchovies)
  • 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper) 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Salad: 

  • 1 head organic celery (about 12 to 15 stalks)
  • 1 cup toasted California walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 1/4 cup golden raisins, coarsely chopped
  • Raisin anchovy dressing (recipe above)
  • Flaky sea salt and black pepper, to taste 

Preparation

  1. Put all of the dressing ingredients in blender. Set aside to allow raisins to plump.
  2. Fill salad spinner bowl with ice water. Cut away 3/4-inch of the root end from the head of celery.
  3. Separate and thoroughly clean the stalks, saving the pale celery “heart” for another use. Cut stalks along the bias into thin slivers — this should yield around 5 cups. Place the celery slivers into the salad spinner basket, then place the basket in the ice water. If you are going to eat the salad later, put the salad spinner in the refrigerator — otherwise allow the celery to crisp for 10 to 15 minutes, then proceed.
  4. Blend dressing, scraping down the sides, until everything is thoroughly combined and no large raisin chunks remain.
  5. To complete the salad, drain the celery and spin to dry, starting and stopping the spinner several times to fling off as much water as possible. Combine the celery, walnuts, and raisins in a large bowl. Drizzle with about half of the dressing and sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt. Toss to combine. Add more dressing if needed. Transfer to a serving dish, and garnish with black pepper and flaky salt. Serve.