This paleo Celery and Cilantro Salad with Raisins is a very very interesting recipe and you do have to enjoy eating celery which is the main ingredient but I don’t believe you’ll be sorry you tried it. I made it in a small quantity since it’s just my beau and I.
The white balsamic vinegar and cilantro give it a great kick. And, since I really really like raisins it was just a good fit for my palate.
So ~ let’s take a look at what ingredients you’ll be needing:
There are different ways to cut your celery for this recipe. I chose to cut my celery strips in 4 pieces width wise and then slice those in 4 lengthwise. I thought it would look pretty that way.
Most of the time, people use whatever raisins are in the cupboard and sometimes, yeah ~ it does happen ~ the raisins are old-er. So (unless you have fresh raisins), we need to plump those raisins back up and there are two ways to do this. One way is to simply put them in cool water for 20 minutes or so, drain them, add the white balsamic vinegar to them and let that sit for a little while.
Or, I chose to go with adding the white balsamic vinegar to the raisins and then putting them in the microwave for a minute or so until they came back to life (this idea was on the original recipe which I adapted). Either way will work.
And, to make things more varied, I used a medley of raisins instead of just one kind.
The cilantro  will be cleaned, leaves removed from the stems and then coarsely chopped.
So … let’s take a peek at the whole recipe, shall we?
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup medley of raisins
- 2 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
- 7 stalks of celery, cleaned and sliced thinly into bite size pieces
- A handful of cilantro, stems removed and chopped coarsely
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
- Combine the raisins and vinegar in a small microwave-safe bowl then microwave for about a minute.
- Drain the raisins in a sieve over a bowl. Discard all the liquid except 1 tablespoon for the salad.
- Combine the raisins, celery, and cilantro in a medium size bowl.
- Add the salt and pepper to the reserved vinegar and blend everything together.
- Add the olive oil to the salt mixture and blend it all together.
- Add the olive oil mixture to the salad a little at a time tossing it until you get the right amount of dressing on the salad.
This recipe is quick, has a nice crunch to it and tastes great. I served it with Paleo Cabbage with Beef and slices of cucumber.
For more paleo recipes, click here.
(Note: This recipe was adapted from the Cooking Light cookbook.)
