The artichokes make this salad quite a bit more intensive to make. That said, I'd argue they're worth it. Alternately, you can swap in another seasonal vegetable if you like - asparagus, favas, etc.
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
1/2 cup / 60ml water
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced20 baby artichokes, trimmed, quartered, and placed in a bowl of water acidulated with the juice of one lemon
1 medium clove of garlic, chopped
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
30 kalamata olives, pitted, rinsed, chopped
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
pinch of salt, plus more to taste
4- 5 cups cooked white beansto serve: a bit of cooked quinoa or other grain, herb flowers (optional)
Combine the vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring until the honey dissolves. Remove from heat, transfer to a non-reactive container (like a jar), and cool completely. When cool add the celery to the vinegar mixture, and set aside at least 15 minutes.
In the meantime, place the prepared artichokes in a saucepan of boiling salted water along with the chopped garlic, for just a minute or two, until tender. Drain well, and set aside. At this point you can season the artichokes, and use them in the salad, OR pan-fry them until golden in a bit of olive oil, and then use them in the salad. Either way is delicious. I pan-fried the ones you see in the photo, but it is an extra step (one you can do a day or two ahead of time if you like though).
Combine the olive oil, olives, walnuts, remaining 1 teaspoon honey, and a bit of salt in a small bowl and stir well. Drain the celery and it to the mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning until it tastes nice.
To serve, combine the beans in a large bowl with the walnut-celery mixture. Stir well. Now season, and adjust as needed -this is an important step to pay attention to for this salad in particular. Make it taste good, ask yourself if it needs more salt, more sweet, a squeeze of lemon, etc. Then finish with the artichokes, a bit of quinoa (or other cooked grain), and a few herb flowers if you have them on hand.
Serves 6.
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