Celery Salad?

Everyone thinks of celery as a veggie to dip into things. It gets little respect even though it can be a diuretic powerhouse and wonderful at lowering blood pressure..... This salad will definitely change your mind about plain old celery!

Last night was a big weeknight for our household! We stayed up past 10 pm! We had a little dinner party to celebrate Chris' graduation from the University of Toronto's EMBA program. We had a great day and then had family over to celebrate. Of course they say you should never try new recipes when entertaining but I rarely follow that rule as I think it's a great opportunity.... especially in this case because it was family. I tried a new tuna tapenade recipe as an appetizer that was delicious (but clearly not detox-friendly with Italian mascarpone as an ingredient!) and a new celery salad. Both were from Ina Garten's cookbook, Back to Basics.

Celery and Parmesan Salad

Yields: 4-6 servings

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tsp grated lemon zest

¼ cup plus 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

2 tbsp minced shallots

1 tsp celery seed

½ tsp celery salt

½ tsp anchovy paste

Kosher salt and freshly group black pepper

5 cups thinly sliced celery hearts, tender leaves included, sliced on an angle (about 12 stalks)

4-ounce chunk aged Parmesan cheese

2/3 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

Whole flat-leaf parsley leaves


1. At least 1 hour before you plan to serve the salad, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, ¼ cup of lemon juice, the shallots, celery seed, celery salt, anchovy paste, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper.

2. Mix 1 tbsp of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt to celery before adding enough dressing to moisten well.

3. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the celery to crisp and the flavors to develop.

4. When ready to serve, arrange the celery on a platter, shave the Parmesan onto the celery with a vegetable peeler, the sprinkle with walnuts, parsley leaves, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.