Celery Salad with Parmesan and Toasted Walnuts

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Last November, when Elinor was about a month away from her debut and unrepentantly pressing on my bladder, we had dinner with our friends Yolanda and Nico.  They live with Yolanda’s sister and brother-in-law in their family’s stately old-San Francisco house where they cook together most nights in their communal kitchen.  One of them is the primary cook, another is the support cook, and the other two help with clean up.   I love their cooking rule: no one, including the cook, may say anything about the food—good or bad—until the end of the meal.  It’s a nice rule, and I can see how it encourages the less experienced cooks among them to keep cooking, but this is not a house that has to worry about the quality of food its kitchen turns out.  Why? Yolanda is Italian—from the heavenly food region of the Piedmont—and Nico is French.  (I’m already coveting their future children’s language skills.)  Not enough, you say, to guarantee good food.  Okay, but trust me on this one: this is a foursome of serious eaters.

Yolanda was head cook the night we came for dinner.  After a lovely spread of cheese, some that the customs officer overlooked as they returned from their continental honeymoon, and charcuterie, including the lovely, specially cured “wedding salami” with lavender, we sat down for dinner.  What I was not expecting to begin was celery, but it was precisely what we had.

Before this dinner, celery was in the same category as the stretchy fabric band I wore to cover my unzipped pre-pregnancy pants: functional and integral, but nothing I would ever want to showcase.  Essential for a mirepoix and stock, celery is always in my kitchen, but I never thought of using it for any other purpose.  In fact, in one of my pregnancy daydreams, I even axed the idea of using it for ants on a log because I’m not convinced that kids prefer the idea of eating insects to peanut butter and raisins.  Plus, it’s stringy.

Fortunately, a simple presentation appeared before me that night that would inalterably revise my impression of the crispy aromatic.  Here is it: celery stalks thinly sliced on the diagonal, small chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano, toasted walnuts, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  So simple, yet so damn original—so very Italian.

A couple weeks ago, Yolanda told me that the foursome had been debating if celery has a season (I told you they were serious eaters).  I checked my local-foods wheel, and it turns out that celery, at least here, is in season now.  So I made this textured, creamy salad with the vegetal celery from my CSA box.  And this time around I have much more room in my stomach to devote to eating this simple salad.

[/donotprint]Celery Salad with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Toasted Walnuts

1 head celery, about 1 pound
6 to 8 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano
¾ cup walnuts
Extra-virgin olive oil (a buttery, mild one works best)
Roasted walnut oil (optional)
Unrefined sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Note: If you’re making this salad ahead of time, do not dress until just before serving and keep tightly covered in the refrigerator to prevent the celery from becoming soggy.

P R E P . Rinse and thoroughly dry the celery and then thinly slice it in diagonal pieces.  Cut the cheese in small cubes or use a fork to crumble it in more irregular small pieces.  Roughly chop or break the walnuts into smallish pieces and toast in a 350°F oven for 16 to 18 minutes, shaking midway through, or warm on the stovetop over medium-low heat, shaking often, until fragrant, crunchy, and golden, about 15 minutes.  Combine one tablespoon of both oils (or two tablespoons olive oil).  Pour the oil over the salad and mix with your hands.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

E A T  A N D  D R I N K . Yolanda served this salad as a starter followed by pasta with an earthy sausage cream sauce and spice cake for dessert.  (Fall, I’m eagerly awaiting your arrival!)  For wine, try a Sancerre, a Sauvignon Blanc from France’s Loire Valley.

L I T T L E  E A T S . I haven’t tried celery with Elinor (still under a year) yet because of its high fiber content, but she does love parmesan.  I suppose I could simmer the celery with some stock and pass it through a food mill to eliminate the fiber issue.  When she’s a bit older, I’ll chop the celery into smaller pieces and give her the salad, omitting the walnuts and walnut oil until she’s about two.

Text and photo © Blue Egg Kitchen 2010

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