It’s November! It means it’s time for Thanksgiving, but more importantly, it means it’s holiday feasting season! I’m ready for turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and questionable vegetable plates. Wait, maybe I’m not ready for the questionable veggie platters. Just kidding, I actually love veggie platters. I even call them crudités, much to the annoyance of Mike. He’s always like, “they’re VEGETABLES.” Are you guys fans? I pretty much like any and all vegetables raw, but I have a special spot in my heart for celery.
For some reason, it’s always the carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers that get eaten first, at least at the parties I go to. I don’t get it because I LOVE celery. I like it raw, I like it cooked, I just like it. Celery doesn’t seem to get much love, but I’ve been seeing celery salad floating around the internet lately and I feel like Bon Appetit is trying to make celery salad happen, much like Gretchen and “fetch” in Mean Girls. I dig it, celery salad is my kind of thing.
I love how it’s crunchy and holds up to dressing well. This is the kind of salad you don’t mind eating even after it’s been an hour or two after it’s made. I riffed off of this salad, adding in some pan roasted kabocha, because fall, as well as roasted pepitas because it just felt right. The result? A hearty salad as a meal dish full of flavor and so much texture. I loved the crunch of the celery next to then tenderness of the kabocha.
Hope you guys get your fall salad on :)
Kabocha Celery Salad Recipe
serves 2
- 1 1/2 tablespoons dried unsweetened cranberries
- 1 1/2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/2 small shallot, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- neutral oil for the pan
- 1/2 kabocha, sliced into 1/8 inch slices
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves
- 3-4 stalks celery, sliced thinly
- 2 tablespoons dry-roasted pepitas
- 1/2 ounce parmesan, shaved
very slightly adapted from Bon Appetit
Combine dried fruit and vinegar in small bowl, set aside
Heat oil up a pan over medium high heat until hot and shimmery. Add the kabocha and cook, flipping once, until brown and tender, about 2-3 minutes per side.
In a small bowl, toss the minced shallots with a pinch of salt. Pour the cranberry-raisin vinegar into the shallots and whisk. Whisk in the oil. Toss everything, minus the pepitas and parmesan, with the dressing, to taste. Top with pepitas and parmesan and enjoy!
