Celery Salad with Green Garlic Pesto

The perfect salad for an early spring picnic! Crisp, sweet celery gets dressed in this luscious, nut free pesto. Sicilian capers add a beautiful floral note to balance the bright garlicky flavors. Don’t forget to rinse, soak, and drain the salted capers before tossing them into this salad. They can overwhelm your palate if not soaked long enough. After they are rinsed of excess salt, a ten minute soak and a few changes of water should do the trick.

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced celery, stalks cut on a bias - use the leaves too!

2 T salt packed capers, rinsed and chopped (see note above)

2 T lemon juice

Zest of 1 lemon

2 T Green Garlic Pesto

Parmigiano Reggiano

Black Pepper

Method:

Place sliced celery and capers in a large bowl. Season with a pinch of salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and the Green Garlic Pesto. Massage the celery as you mix everything together, making sure that there are no clumps of pesto lurking anywhere. Pile onto a large plate, grate some Parmigiano Reggiano over the top and finish with a few twists of freshly ground black pepper.