Celery, Apple and Walnut Slaw

1 head celery, leaves kept
2 apples
1⁄2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
Salt and pepper

Break the head apart and wash each stalk. Grit collects in the groove at the base and a quick rinse misses it.

Keep every leaf. The pale ones from the heart are tender enough to use whole, the dark outer ones are stronger and better chopped small. Most of a head of celery leaves the kitchen in the bin, and the leaves carry more flavour than the stalks do.

Peel the outer stalks with a vegetable peeler to take the strings off. Two passes down the rounded back of each stalk is enough. The pale inner stalks do not need it.

Slice on a long angle about 5 mm thick so each piece has length rather than sitting in the bowl as a chunk.

Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, then tip them onto a plate. They turn bitter if left in a hot pan.

Quarter and core the apples, then cut them into matchsticks about the same size as the celery. Leave the skin on for colour. Toss them in the lemon juice as you go, or they brown while you make the dressing.

A firm apple works best here. A soft one goes to mush against the dressing.

Whisk the yoghurt, mayonnaise, mustard, honey, salt and pepper into the lemon juice from the apples. It should taste sharper than you think it needs to be.

Fold the celery, apple and half the walnuts through. Tear the leaves roughly and stir most of them in, then scatter the rest of the walnuts and leaves over the top.

Dress it no more than 30 minutes before you eat. Salt pulls water out of the celery and the dressing turns thin.

Undressed, the cut celery and apple hold overnight in a sealed container. Crumble cheddar through it and it becomes lunch rather than a side.

foodgarden.com.au