Happy 2017! Naturally, my first post of the year is a salad. Even though I’m not a big new years resolution kind of gal, I certainly can appreciate the need to eat better after too many cookies. Seriously, I made my peppermint cookies at least a half dozen times over the course of a month. Could. Not. Stop.
This time of year is tricky when it comes to seasonal produce or lack there of but one thing I seem to always have on hand is celery, my soup staple and dip boat. This salad is chalk full of the refreshing and crunchy vegetable and even includes the greens so don’t pitch ’em. You could easily use some fancy oils like hazelnut or walnut for more complex flavors but the salad is good as is and who wants to go buy an $8 bottle of oil that will likely go rancid before using it all. Practicality wins in my book!
- 3 celery sticks
- ½ chopped fennel bulb
- 1 grapefruit, peeled and sliced to your liking
- 2 T roughly chopped celery leaves
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced crosswise
- 3 T hazelnuts or walnuts, roasted and chopped
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅛ cup lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- Roast hazelnuts or walnut at 350 F until brown (about 5 minutes) cool completely before roughly chopping
- Mix together grapefruit, celery, fennel, celery leaves and green onion into a medium sized bowl
- Whisk together minced garlic, oil and lemon juice and drizzle into the salad
- Toss and garnish with chopped hazelnuts and salt and pepper
