Celery Salad with Walnuts, Pears and Roquefort

I am quite fond of salads with fruits. To me fruits overpower the bluntness of regular green salads. In Turkey we are used to a few salads like spinach with pomegrenates. But fruity salad world is very vast and it is waiting for us to discover! Well, one of the gems I discovered recently, and I hesitate each time I prepare and end up with a happy surprise, is this celery salad with walnuts, pears and Roquefort.

Back in Turkey, celery branch was not very easy to find. Traditionally we use the root and leaves. In fact, our celeries do not have a long branches. So I wasn’t used to using them except maybe as a side to a big roast, or raw in aperos. Using celery (branch and leaves) in a salad is very challenging for me.

You can of course substitute Roquefort with any other blue cheese, Gorgonzola or Danish Blue, for instance. Also if you are in Turkey, there are many local blues, or you can even use tulum even though it is not always blue. Also as a side note, if you find blue cheese too heavy, like me, don’t worry, the recipe is so well balanced that you won’t even realise its strength. Still, if you are hesitant, you can reduce the amount of cheese.

You can also substitute hazelnut oil with olive oil, but the hazelnut oil matches quite well with the harmony.

Also, do not worry that it is only a salad. Fruits, cheese and walnuts altogether create a fulfilling dish so if you bring your lunch to work this is an ideal recipe for you.