This Celery Salad with Radish, Cranberries, and Walnuts is a hearty winter salad that requires less than 10 ingredients and can be put together in just a few minutes!
I’ve been posting A LOT of soups and stews lately because that is mostly what I turn to this time of year. I love making just a big batch of chili or hearty soup and then enjoying it for meals for several days after. I usually eat it with either some fresh bread or a hearty salad like this one. What I love about this celery salad is that it stays goods in the fridge for several days without getting too soggy so you can make it one day and then enjoy the leftovers for the next day or two without having to worry about compromising the texture (although the celery leaves will wilt after a day but you can pick those out and still enjoy the rest of the components).
I haven’t been going to our local winter farmer’s market as often this year because it’s inside and we are avoiding inside places as much as possible during the pandemic. However, I decided to wander over there last weekend and I’m so glad I did because it inspired me to make this salad with what I picked up – I was able to grab the most vibrant watermelon radish and the cutest pink celery (I mixed it with a pound of green celery in this recipe so you’ll see both if you look closely). Since I usually find a lot of new inspiration from traveling and we haven’t done that since before the pandemic started, it was so refreshing to feel inspired by an experience that wasn’t in the form of seeing photos on social media or clicking to add groceries into my online cart.
If you can’t find watermelon radish at your local grocery store or farmer’s market then the more common red radish can be substituted here (but won’t be nearly as colorful). Also, I’m not expecting you to find pink celery (and lucky you if you do!) so my notes in the recipe are for regular green celery as that is what most people will have access to and the flavor was very similar. The celery I used had some beautiful leaves so I saved those for garnish at the end and they added a really lovely punch of flavor but if the celery you pick up doesn’t have the leaves on it (or they don’t look so great), feel free to finish the salad with a few parsley leaves instead.
This Celery Salad with Radish, Cranberries, and Walnuts is a hearty winter salad that requires less than 10 ingredients and can be put together in just a few minutes!
- 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt + more to taste
- dash of black pepper + more to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 bunches of celery (2 pounds), stalks thinly sliced on the bias + leaves reserved for garnish
- 1 medium watermelon radish, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts
- 2 oz shaved salty cheese (such as pecorino or vegetarian Parmesan)
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In a small mixing bowl, whisk the salt and pepper into the red wine vinegar. Slowly pour olive oil into the bowl to emulsify the dressing. Toss in the shallot and dried cranberries and let sit for at least 10 minutes.
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In a large mixing bowl, toss together the celery, thinly sliced radish, walnuts and cheese. Drizzle in the dressing along with the shallot and cranberries. Garnish with the celery leaves and season with more pepper or salt, as needed.
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Serve right away.
Make sure to tag Vegetarian ‘Ventures on Instagram and use #vegetarianventures when trying this dish out!
2 Comments
Owen
Fabulous since I’ve just recently rediscovered celery too. It adds so much flavor to everything cooked or raw.
Lidwien
I made this salad as a side dish recently and it was really nice. Will make it again soon!