Anything But Corn-Fed: Healthy College Cooking in Rural Iowa

It’s apple season, my mom’s favorite fruit, so hopefully I will be posting lots of apple recipes! Apples, celery, and walnuts seemed like a natural pairing (and I had week-old celery in the fridge). But what to dress this crispy salad with? Apples and celery are perfect compliments to peanut butter, so why not tahini, too?

After failing to find Annie’s Natural Goddess Dressing at any of the three grocery stores in town (one of the grocery stores being Walmart… I’m not sure this counts), I searched these here internets and found a similar recipe. I eat it straight off a spoon, but it’s pretty good on just about anything it touches. If you don’t have toasted sesame oil, it’s a worthwhile investment; it packs a lot of flavor. I leave out the green onions and sesame seeds when I make this, but I’m sure it would be an improvement on an already great, simple recipe.

This isn’t the prettiest salad… the apples, celery, and walnuts have a variety of colors and textures, but the dressing is pasty brown.

Apple Celery Salad with Walnuts and Tahini Dressing

one apple per capita, cored and chopped into bite-size pieces

one stalk of celery per apple, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

1-2 tbl walnuts per apple

about 1/3 cup tahini dressing per apple (recipe to follow)

Mix ‘em!

Tahini Goddess Salad Dressing

Makes 2 cups

2 tbl plain sesame oil or olive oil

1/4 cup toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup tahini

2 tbl red wine vinegar

1/4 cup water

5 small green onions, diced

1 tbl lemon juice

1 tbl soy sauce

plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp sesame seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Mix ‘em (with a blender, food processor, or fork)! Store in the fridge in a jar with a tight lid. The lemon and vinegar will keep it fresh for a while.

From: Kathy 228. Tahini Goddess Salad Dressing. Recipezaar. http://www.recipezaar.com/95888