Celery Salad

• Separate the leaves from the stalks of the celery. Slice the stalks thinly on a bias. You can also roughly chop the leaves.
• If your celery is a little wilted, place it in a bowl of ice water to heighten the crispiness, then drain on a tea towel before continuing.
• Toast the nuts by warming them in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until fragrant and toasted, about 2-4 minutes.
• Place sliced celery in a medium sized bowl.
• Add the chopped nuts, dates, feta cheese, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, and red pepper flakes. Season generously with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
• Serve.

Notes:

•  If you are making this salad ahead, store the nuts separately and mix in just before serving to maintain their crunch.
• Start with a small amount of chopped shallots and add according to taste.  If you put too much, it takes over the dish but it is delicious in small amounts. I do believe they elevate the dish but you can always try it without shallots if you are not a fan.
• If you don’t like feta, it works well with queso fresco or parmesan reggiano instead.
• If you would like to make it nut-free, try using toasted sunflower seeds instead of walnuts, pecans or almonds.
• If you want to add another pop of protein, you can add rotisserie chicken but I would double the dressing part of the recipe.