If the writers of the TV satire Portlandia had come to Washington and eaten at Etto while working on Season 4, they might have rethought the sketch featuring a marketer trying (and failing) to make celery the hip new vegetable. Because all it takes is one forkful of "Celery, Celery, Celery and Walnut" to realize that co-owner Peter Pastan has met the challenge.
How do he and chef Cagla Onal-Urel turn the humble vegetable into something swoon-worthy? Sharp pecorino Romano cheese, tangy citrus and a heavy dose of supreme olive oil do the trick -- or so we thought before Pastan shared the recipe. The secret, it turns out, is that he calls for not just conventional green celery but also the Chinese variety, which has thinner ribs and a stronger flavor and is not traditionally eaten raw. Make this salad with the more common celery, and it's very good; mix the two types, and it's sublime.
Celery, Walnut and Pecorino Salad
1 bunch green celery with leafy tops
1 bunch Chinese celery (see note)
1/2 cup walnut halves
2 ounces pecorino Romano cheese, shaved
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Trim the core of the green celery. Separate the individual ribs. Use a vegetable peeler to remove/discard the stringy layer from 6 outer ribs. Cut the ribs very thinly to yield 1 cup. Reserve 1 cup whole leaves from the inside, pale celery heart ribs.
Trim the core of the Chinese celery. Separate the individual ribs. Thinly slice 10 of them to yield 1 cup. Pick off and reserve 1 1/2 cups of darker green leaves.
Toast the walnut halves, then crush or coarsely chop them.
In a mixing bowl, toss the celery and leaves with the pecorino, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, salt and pepper
Serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.
Note: Chinese celery is available at some Asian markets. If you can't find it use regular celery.
Food on 07/09/2014