Celery stars in salad
This recipe is a find, considering we have celery in our stores year-round, and it is easy to make. It comes from a new cookbook called Dutch Feast, by Emily Wight (Arsenal, $32.95), a Vancouver recipe developer who blogs at wellfed-flat-broke. com and married into a Dutch family.
She gives the reader an easy-reading rundown on a cuisine that, in her opinion, does not get enough attention. Historical touches are plentiful throughout its welldesigned pages and 120 recipes.
We buy and enjoy Dutch greenhouse vegetables for many months of the year, but Wight found few raw salads in the Dutch repertoire. This one is adapted from a cookbook published in 1667. Wight livened it up with an apple and fresh herbs.
Her book is divided by the meals of the day and other topics, including comfort food, which features delectable mashed potatoes, braised meat dishes and warming soups.
Flavourings are unusual, including in the dessert section. A welcome addition to a cookbook library.
CELERY SALAD
Serves: 4
1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) fennel seeds
2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp (2 mL) kosher salt
1/2 tsp (2 mL) freshly ground pepper
6 stalks fresh celery, trimmed, plus leaves
1 tart green apple, like Granny Smith
1 tbsp (15 mL) fresh, minced tarragon
1/3 cup (75 mL) leaves
of fresh, flat-leaf parsley
1. Fry fennel seeds in oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until golden, about two minutes. Scrape oil and seeds into a large bowl and let cool completely.
2. Whisk vinegar, salt and pepper into the bowl and mix with fennel seeds and oil.
3. Core the apple, cut in half lengthwise, then slice thinly. Slice celery thinly on the diagonal.
4. Add apple, celery, tarragon and parsley, plus celery leaves, to the bowl, tossing to coat with dressing.
5. Refrigerate for up to 30 minutes before serving.