This salad is surprising – so few ingredients, but so much flavor, crunch, and umami. Use fresh, in-season celery for the best results. Adapted from Six Seasons.

Ingredients

• 8 long celery stalks (as fresh as possible!), leaves separated and reserved, tough fibers peeled off with a vegetable peeler, sliced on an angle into ¼-inch thick pieces
• ½ c walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 4 Medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped
• 2-3 oz Parmesan, shaved
• 6-8 oil-packed anchovies, drained
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 3-4 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Prepare celery: separate and reserve leaves, then slice on a bias into 1/4″ thick pieces.
2. If your celery is very fresh, you can skip this step. Otherwise, proceed! Place celery in a bowl of ice water and soak for about 20 minutes to heighten the crispness. Drain the celery and pat it dry with a tea towel.
3. Place celery in medium serving bowl along with celery leaves, walnuts, dates, and cheese.
4. To make the dressing, pound garlic and anchovy until they make a paste.
5. Stir in olive oil and mix until glossy.
6. Add lemon juice and red pepper flakes, then stir to combine. You should have a nice, thick dressing.
7. Toss celery salad ingredients with dressing and season to taste, adding salt, pepper, and more lemon juice as needed.