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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
As much as I’d like to take credit for making up all the stuff I cook, I’m constantly borrowing ideas about flavor wherever I find them. Sometimes it’s an unexpected dish at a restaurant or a glimpse of a cook doing something different. When a food tastes, looks, or sounds good enough, it usually makes me think, “I might be able to make that.”
So when barbecue critic Robert Moss wrote an aside in his email newsletter about a celery salad at Sullivan’s Fish Camp—a restaurant on the sandy barrier island at the mouth of Charleston Harbor—that “a white bowl of chopped celery, walnuts, dates, and cheddar…what sounds like [an] 8-year-old boy’s nightmare is a 55-year-old’s dream,” I had to take a shot.
While I wouldn’t limit the age range of who might love the combo, I’m with Moss that it’s delicious. Lightly blanched celery retains a nice crunch, and the sweet dates, salty cheese, and rich nuts do that flavor thing of tasting better together than alone.
Recipe
4–5 stalks celery, about 3 cups when sliced
½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
8–10 Medjool dates
2–3 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
Kosher-style sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped, optional
Bring a quart or so of salted water to a boil and blanch the celery stalks for 2 minutes, then cool under cold running water. Slice them into roughly ½-inch pieces. Halve and pit the dates, then cut each half into 2 or 3 pieces. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small skillet, add the dates, and cook for about 2 minutes. Let cool. Stir the mustard and vinegar together, then add the rest of the olive oil and mix well. Add the rest of the ingredients and toss to combine. I think this is best if refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.
