This Lemony Celery Crunch Salad is a perfect fresh mid-winter salad that will awaken your taste buds while energizing & nourishing your everything else .🌞 Low in calories, it’s a great make-ahead salad, too, ideal for several days worth of lunches or side-dishes.
Celery is perhaps at its best in salad: Its flavor is at its brightest and its crunch is unapologetically assertive.
Because celery rocks. And, in all seriousness, this simple celery salad may be just what you need to both cheer and inspire a weary palate (and spirit) in this bleak mid-winter we call February.
Here’s why: in addition to being crunchy, fresh, quick & easy, inexpensive, minimalist (celery & lemons + basic pantry staples), this verdant salad also tastes like a promise of bright spring days to come. I don’t know about the weather in your neck of the woods, but it is cold, grey and drizzly as I type today, so I need all of the hints of spring I can get!
Here’s the entirety of ingredients: midwinter friendly produce (celery, both the stalks and leaves, lemon juice, lemon zest & parsley), olive oil, salt and pepper. That’s it! It may sound basic, but the sum is far greater than the parts.
Fancy versions of salt and olive oil are not required, but if you have some, this salad is the place for both because the flavor of each will shine through (no competing flavors, only complementary ones).
*Antioxidant awesomeness: major source of wide range of antioxidants, which offer protection from free radicals)
*Potassium power: 1 cup chopped has 263 mg, rivaling bananas (362 mg for small banana), but without the sugar!
*High fiber fabulous: both soluble and insoluble–great for your gut!
*Rich in vitamins A & C: think beautiful skin, healthy immune system & more
Quick note: if you plan to store the salad for several days, keep the leaves in a separate container (dry) and then add some to the salad when ready to serve (otherwise they will be wilted, which is ok, but its better when they are not).
Let’s Go!
Ali
Lemony Celery Crunch Salad
4
servings10
minutes10
minutes33
kcalIngredients
6 cups sliced celery (fairly thin), PLUS 1 cup of the celery leaves, chilled
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or oil of choice)
1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsely leaves
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (or more to taste)
large pinch of sea salt (or to taste)
Directions
- In a large bowl, toss together all of the ingredients. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Storage: Store the salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Celery Seed Options: The celery seeds can be omitted or you can substitute up to 1 teaspoons of dried herbs such as dill, herbes de Provence, or basil.
- Celery Leaves: If you plan to store the salad for several days, keep the leaves in a separate container (dry) and then add some to the salad when ready to serv
