Apple Celery Salad

As an appetizer, these apple bowls are a fun and unique finger food. Serve on a plate and have napkins handy. You can also serve as a main salad on a bed of fresh spring lettuce. This salad is simple to make, light, healthy, and delicious.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice [about half a lemon]
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons agave
• 4 thinly sliced celery stalks
• 1/2 cup walnuts, broken into small pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 apples, cut in half, core removed
• Salt and pepper to taste, optional

Instructions

1. Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Set aside.

2. Trim off bottoms of each celery stalk. Thinly slice stalks straight across or on deep diagonal. Place celery pieces in medium bowl and add walnuts and parsley.

3. Slice each apple in half and scoop out the core and stem end with a melon baller. Discard the core and ends.

4. Take a sharp knife or vegetable peeler and slice a very thin slice off the bottom of the rounded side of each apple half so that the apple half can lie open side up.

5. Take the melon baller and scoop out enough apple flesh to create a hollow bowl. Be careful not to scoop down too far and create a whole at the bottom of the apple half. Set apple bowls aside.

6. Chop apple flesh into small piece and add to the bowl with celery. Add citrus vinaigrette and add salt and pepper to taste. Combine the mixture well.

7. Divide the mixture among the apple bowls, pressing it into place. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 hours, then serve.

Notes

This recipe can easily be doubled. In place of walnuts, try almonds, pecans, brazil nuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Also cilantro would be interesting in place of parsley.