There was a time in my life I wouldn't go near anything like this. And I doubt I would have ever imagined the day would come when I not only made this salad -- but I picked out the recipe too! The description says it hits every flavor note: bitter, sweet, salty, sour, and spicy. And it also fits with my current intentions to eat healthier and lose some weight.
Start with 8 stalks of celery, with the leaves separated. Then slice them very thinly along a diagonal and toss them into a large bowl.
Toast 1/2 cup of walnuts with salt & pepper. The recipe called for toasted almonds, but I burned them ... TWICE! It turns out you shouldn't try to toast almonds that have already been sliced. They burn really, really easily. So if you do want to toast almonds, use whole nuts. But I think this was a happy mistake. The walnuts were a really nice touch.
Also slice 6 pitted dates into smaller chunks. Toss them into the bowl along with the celery leaves, toasted nuts, 3 Tbsp lemon juice, and 1/4 cup olive oil. Stir it all together well and then add Parmesan cheese (either shaved or dried) and crushed red pepper flakes.
So you see: the celery is bitter, the lemon juice is sour, the dates are sweet, the Parmesan & nuts are salty, and the heat comes from the crushed red pepper flakes. Your mouth should be jumping all over the place!
If the celery is a bit too out there for some of you, the rest of the salad would be just as good with some other leafy greens. But I happen to think the thinly sliced celery gave a really nice textural crunch. I ate a ton of the salad and I actually liked it quite a bit. Score one victory for celery.
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