Readers of The Bitten Word cooked every recipe in the September 2013 Bon Appetit magazine. Here's their take on Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds and Parmesan.
Lisa: It was fantastic! So easy to prepare and everyone, including my picky mother, loved it! The flavors of the celery with the sweet dates and salty Parmesan was a wonderful flavor combination. This is a keeper. And it took me 5 minutes to prepare.
Jenifer: This was a light salad that was easy and quick to make with just the right amount of ingredients. The flavors really paired nicely together and each one brought something special. I served it along side a roasted pork tenderloin with an Asian peanut slather, which helped to lighten it up! One tiny error on BA's part was that they neglected to note the required amount of almonds. Found it on Epicurious.com....answer was 1/2 cup. Overall, a winner!
Katie: This salad is super refreshing and unique. It would be a great addition to any holiday buffet, year round! Ingredients are simple and affordable, available anywhere and any time. One of those recipes where the sum is better than the parts.
Bernice: This ultra quick salad has it all; sweet, sour, salt, spice and umami. It is ultra crunchy and as my youngest is always reminding me 'you burn more calories eating the celery than there are in the celery'. I made half of the recipe because this salad is not something my family would enjoy. Only one of us like to eat celery and my kids have an aversion to having dried fruit in salads. But it is pretty!
Sharon: My photo is titled the "Sixth Serving" - it works perfect as a small appetizer salad, which I served with fresh baked baguette - and as you can see I could have easily served eight, not six. This salad is scrumptious; the variety of flavors mingled perfectly, and it was a huge hit. Folks were asking for the recipe.
Jody: This hits all the taste bases: sweet, sour, creamy, sharp, hot and crunchy. Serves six; my husband and I ate the whole thing for dinner. Major yum and filling. Who knew celery could be elevated to company food? Recipe did not include the amount of almonds. I had to sleuth it out (found it on Epicurious).
Anne: The red pepper flakes we took as optional and did not mind them in and did not miss them when they were out. The recipe does not suggest letting the flavors rest together overnight but I could see that improving the salad. One roommate suggested a mixture of fennel and celery could be a nice way to jazz up the salad more. Olive oil quality will definitely affect the quality of the dish. The portions could serve 2 as entrees or four as an appetizer/side salad or 6-8 as a small starter plate-almost amous bouche-esque. Tastes even better the day after! Overall: Definitely liked it, but not my favorite salad. More of a light summer salad to cleanse your palate perhaps or even stimulate it as a base without being too flavorful as your first course before the real dishes come out of the kitchen. Quality of each ingredient matters as it is such a simple list. who knew celery leaves tasted good?!
Get the Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds and Parmesan recipe at Bon Appétit