Celery Salad with Pear, Feta, Olives & Jalapeño

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Verjus, Champagne vinegar or rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 4 cups celery sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced Bosc pears
• 1 tablespoon diced jalapeño
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped Kalamata olives
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 3 tablespoons chopped mint
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Step 1

Set a medium pot of salted water over high heat and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, make vinaigrette: Combine vinegar, shallots and pinch of salt in a bowl and let shallots macerate 10 minutes. Whisk in oil, adjust seasonings to taste and set aside.

Plunge celery into boiling water and blanch until bright green, about 2 minutes. Toss dry and let stalks cool until just warm to the touch or room temperature, at least 10 minutes. Season celery with salt and drizzle with olive oil.

In a salad bowl, toss blanched celery with pear, jalapeño and olives. Dress generously with vinaigrette and adjust seasonings to taste. Spoon salad onto 4 plates and garnish with cheese and herbs. Finish with an extra drizzle of olive oil and serve.