Juicy celery is the base of this fresh salad, joined by sweet grapes, salty blue cheese and warm, toasted hazelnuts. Lemon and olive oil keep the dressing light, letting each flavor and texture shine through.
Celery often plays a supporting role in salads, but here it makes up most of the dish. Slice the stalks thinly on the diagonal: this gives you plenty of cut surface while keeping the salad pleasantly crunchy. Remove any strings if the outer stalks are very fibrous. The pale inner stalks are usually milder and more tender; feel free to use a mix of inner and outer stalks for a little more bite.
Grapes add juiciness and gentle sweetness to balance the savory, creamy blue cheese. Halve them so they mix easily with the dressing and don’t roll out of the salad. Blue cheeses vary quite a bit in strength. A mild blue cheese gives a rounder flavor, while a sharper one brings out the salty, spicy contrast. Crumble the cheese coarsely; small crumbles distribute more evenly, but a few larger pieces make for a creamier bite.
The hazelnuts are more than just a topping: a quick toast in a dry skillet makes them more aromatic and gives them a satisfying crunch. Shake the pan regularly and take the nuts off the heat as soon as they smell fragrant and start to color in places. Let them cool before chopping them coarsely. This helps them stay crunchy rather than softening in the dressing. Unsalted nuts are best, since the cheese already adds salt.
Lemon juice and olive oil make a simple dressing that cuts through the creaminess of the cheese without making the salad feel heavy. First toss the celery and grapes with the dressing and taste before adding salt; blue cheeses vary in saltiness. For a gentler acidity, you can replace some of the lemon juice with mild white wine vinegar. Add the cheese and hazelnuts at the very end so the nuts keep their crunch and the cheese isn’t completely mixed into the dressing.
Serve the salad as a side with roasted vegetables, a savory tart or a simple meal with bread. It’s best while the celery is still cool and crunchy. You can prepare ahead: toast and chop the hazelnuts in advance and store them in an airtight container at room temperature. Cut the celery and grapes and keep them covered in the fridge; toss everything together just before serving. Once dressed, the salad is best eaten straight away, as the nuts and celery will soften over time.
Toast the hazelnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3–5 minutes. Shake the pan regularly. Remove them as soon as they smell fragrant and turn lightly golden, let them cool, then chop them coarsely.
Slice the celery thinly on the diagonal. Halve the grapes and crumble the blue cheese coarsely.
Whisk the lemon juice with the olive oil, salt and a few turns of black pepper in a large bowl.
Add the celery and grapes and toss to coat. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Gently fold in the blue cheese and scatter the hazelnuts over the salad just before serving.
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