Celery Pear and Hazelnut Salad

A Crunchy, Healthy Autumnal Salad Recipe

We’re so in love with this crunchy, fresh, sweet-tart hazelnut, pear and celery salad recipe. While it makes a truly lovely Thanksgiving salad—all that freshness and crunch is a really welcome thing on turkey day!—it’s also a terrific everyday treat for fall and winter. This salad’s bold flavors and fun textures are a delight after days (or weeks) of hearty cold-weather fare, which can be so heavy and one-note. Try serving it as a light lunch, or bring it to a winter dinner party—it travels beautifully, and can even be dressed a bit ahead of time.

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This Fall Salad

With hearty ingredients like celery and fennel bulb—and notably lacking in tender salad greens—this autumnal salad is ideal for making ahead! We just love the fact that you’ll be able to prep all of the components for this salad a day or two ahead of time, and even once it’s dressed and on the table, the celery and fennel will stay crunchy. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this earthy salad:

• Celery
• Fennel bulb
• Pears
• Hazelnuts
• Shaved parmesan
• Golden raisins
• Tarragon

Pear Vinaigrette? Yes, Pear Vinaigrette!

Fresh, ripe, perfect pears are one of our very favorite things. When they’re finally in season, we buy tons! And this salad features their delicate, perfumed sweetness in both the salad itself and the sweet-tangy dressing that coats it. P.S. did you know that pears are one of those wonderful fruits that ripen after picking? So if you find some hard pears at the store or farmers market, just pile them into a bowl on your kitchen counter and let time work its magic. They’re ripe when you can detect a bit of give around the stem. Once the pears are ripe, you can put them in the fridge if you’re not quite ready to use them. Here’s what you’ll need for this slightly creamy, herby autumnal vinaigrette recipe:

• Ripe pear
• Olive oil
• Apple cider vinegar
• Honey
• Lemon
• Fresh tarragon

How To Make The Best Raw Fennel Salad

Raw fennel bulb, sliced super thinly and tossed with celery and pears and the nutty crunch of hazelnuts, makes for a truly transcendent salad experience. This is a seriously restaurant-y salad, in the best way. But all of that said, it’s not actually hard to make! Most of the work is in getting everything sliced thinly enough so break out your sharpest knife and let’s get cooking.

1. Begin by chopping everything! If you’re making the salad a day or two ahead of time, chop everything except for the pears, because they’ll turn brown.
2. Now make the dressing! Simply combine everything in a blender and purée until you’ve got a creamy, smooth pear dressing.
3. Toss it all together! If you’re making the salad ahead, wait to dress it until close to the time you’re going to eat. It doesn’t have to be immediately before serving but try to wait until at least 30 minutes before serving.

More Fall Salad Recipes To Try

Whether it is a salad for your Thanksgiving table, or a salad that’ll perk up (and add a little healthy veggies to) your weeknight dinner routine, we’ve got four autumnal salads that we know you’ll love:

• Easy Fennel Salad
• Maple Roasted Squash Salad
• Moroccan Beet Salad
• Chicken Waldorf Salad

Tools You’ll Need:

• Blender
• Sharp knife

Crunch Crunch Crunch

Try this celery and fennel salad recipe, and let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!