Celery, Pear & Hazenut Salad

On Sunday, I decided to host a small dinner for my two college buddies D & M, both who I haven't seen in ages. M used to be my roommate, but now resides in SF and happened to be in town for business this week. We weren't able to get together last Friday for lunch, which is why I was able to go with S to ENJB, so we made an alternate food date. She also invited D, a mutual friend from school. D just recently got engaged (congratulations!) Her gorgeous ring almost needed its own seat at the table. :P

The menu consisted of:
Roast Tomato & Basil Bruschetta
Celery, Asian Pear, and Hazenut Salad
Lemon Angel Hair Pasta with Roast Shrimp and Grilled Sea Scallops
Dessert: Mini-cake & petit fours (courtesy of M)
Wine: Santa Cristina Sangiovese

Everything turned out to be pretty delicious, but the salad really stood out in my mind. I would highly recommend it to anyone who's sick of leafy greens, but still want to eat a healthy and satisfying salad. The hazelnuts make this salad a great alternative source of protein. The bias-cut celery also made this dish pretty fun to prepare.

More pics can be found here.


Celery, Pear and Hazelnut Salad
From Jerry Traunfeld, Food & Wine
Prep time: 10 min / Cook time: 10 min / Ready in: 20 min
Yields: 6 servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup hazelnuts

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup hazelnut oil

6 celery ribs, thinly sliced on the bias

1 medium Asian pear, cut into 1 1/2-by-3/8-inch matchsticks (or thick julienne)

1/4 cup chopped dill


Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spread the hazelnuts in a pie plate and toast for about 8 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Let cool, then transfer to kitchen towel and rub them together to remove the skins (I doubt all of it will come off. I think eating the skin is fine, plus it adds a bit of color to the salad!). Coarsely chop the hazelnuts.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the cider vinegar with the mustard and salt. Gradually whisk in the hazelnut oil. Add the celery, Asian pear, dill and hazelnuts and toss to coat. Serve immediately.