Cherry & Celery Salad w/ A Walnut Vinaigrette

#42 Summer produce at its freaky deaky finest

Hi hi hello again after another months long hiatus!! Can’t say I am gonna be back more consistently for sure. BUT I am here for now, for this incredibly easy, absolutely divineeee recipe. This salad will be in your rotation all summer long. The walnut dressing is inspired by a similar dressing from the book “Where Cooking Begins” by Carla Lalli Music (one of my fave cookbooks). She infuses the olive oil with the walnuts as they toast in the pan, makes a dressing out of it, and then spoons it over figs with Manchego cheese (also one of my absolute favorite appetizers/snacks to make). It was so genius and so easy to make and I have been making versions of the dressing ever since I first made that recipe of hers a few years ago.

Cherries are one of my favorite fruits. I love them straight from the bag and also added to anything and everything, sweet or savory. So when I saw them popping back up in the grocery store last week, my pregnant a$$ had to make something with them.

You can make this dressing a few hours ahead of time and just leave it sitting at room temperature. Give it a good stir just before dressing the salad. You can prep the salad (without the dressing) a few hours ahead of time too and just pop it in the fridge with a damp paper towel over it until ready to serve (hosting hack!!).

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup sherry vinegar

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

• lots of freshly ground black pepper

• 4 oz spring lettuce, such as baby butter, little gems, spring mix, or any combo of whatever looks good, about 1 cup per person

• 1 cup fresh cherries, pits removed and cut into quarters; 5-6 oz

• 1 cup celery, thinly sliced on the bias; about 3-4 stalks

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

• 3 oz mild blue cheese, crumbled; about 1/2 cup

cherries are so moody n cute

Instructions

1. Place a small skillet over medium heat and add the 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 3/4 cup olive oil. Cook, stirring frequently until the walnuts are fragrant and golden brown and the olive oil is sizzling, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the 1/2 cup sherry vinegar (it will sizzle a bit) then add 2 tablespoons honey, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Taste the dressing (be careful it will be hot), add more salt, vinegar or honey as you see fit. You want it to be very punchy, slightly sweet, and perfectly salty.

2. Assemble the salad: To a large bowl or serving platter add the 4 oz lettuce then scatter over the chopped fresh cherries, sliced celery, sliced shallot, and blue cheese crumbles. Spoon the walnut dressing over everything just before serving.