sweet miscellany

This vegan and gluten free celery salad with blood orange, dates, and walnuts ticks all the major texture and flavor boxes! It’s crunchy, creamy, nutty, tart, herbal, and a little sweet. Plus, it’s ready in just about 15 minutes with only 9 ingredients!

LOCALLY GROWN CELERY!!!! I can’t express how incredibly excited I was to be able to bring home some locally grown celery last week. Celery is a notoriously tricky crop to grow because it is really specific about moisture levels and temperatures (it likes it cool and wet). It’s rare (but not impossible) to find it down here in Houston simply because our weather is a bit unpredictable and all over the place. Luckily, this winter yielded some beautiful and insanely flavorful celery at Sunset Farm.

Since locally grown celery is a rarity, and it is always so much more flavorful than what you can find at the grocery store, I knew it needed to be the star of a recipe. Its vibrantly grassy and mineral flavors were just begging to go into a chopped salad with a simple creamy dressing. Toasted walnuts, dates, blood oranges and chives were added to the mix. Et voila! This crunchy, creamy, nutty, tart, herbal, and sweet salad was born!

Celery Storage & Prep Tips

Here in Houston, celery is typically a winter or early spring crop. My favorite way to store it is to fill a quart-sized mason jar with about an inch of water. Place the bottom (root end) of the celery stalks in the jar, making sure they have contact with the water. Place the jar in the fridge and make sure to use it within 1-2 weeks.

Celery is fairly straightforward to use, simple chop it up and add it to recipes! If you’re lucky enough to get a bunch with the leaves still attached, don’t throw them out! They have a flavor similar to parsley with hints of celery that can be used like an herb. If you’d like to enjoy celery in other recipes, try this trumpet mushroom chick-un salad or this winter minestrone.

What You Need for This Recipe

Celery Stalks – form the base of the salad and lend a crunchy texture and their characteristic grassy and mineral flavor.
Blood Oranges – add a tangy punch of brightness that lifts the salad and complements all of the other flavors. They also add a lovely pop of color.
Chives – add a subtle onion-y flavor that works well with the celery.
Toasted Walnuts – add a toasty and nutty flavor plus another layer of crunch aside from the celery.
Dates – add a subtle sweetness that works to round out all of the flavors in the salad.
Plain Vegan Yogurt – plain unsweetened yogurt lends creaminess to the dressing along with a subtle tanginess.
Vegan Mayo – adds creaminess to the dressing.
Non-dairy milk – helps to thin out the dressing.
Sea Salt – seasons the salad and helps balance all of the flavors.

Tips for Recipe Success

This salad is best with celery that has been finely chopped. To do this, simply chop each stalk into thin slices (about 1/8-inch thick) then measure out the amount needed for the recipe (2 cups).
If you want to have super-crunchy celery, make sure to let your chopped celery chill in a bath of ice water for a few minutes. This step is especially helpful if your celery is a little limp.
Chop the dates really fine. You want there to be small pops of sweetness in the salad rather than a bite with a big hunk of date that is overwhelmingly sweet.
Toast your walnuts! It brings out their nuttiness and makes them a little more crunchy.
This salad is best enjoyed as soon as it’s made since the dressing begins to draw excess liquid out of the celery and oranges. If you want to prepare the salad components ahead of time, I recommend keeping the dressing separate. Once you’re ready to enjoy your salad, toss everything together!

Celery Salad with Blood Orange, Dates, & Walnuts

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2 servings 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups thinly sliced celery
2 blood oranges
2 tbsp minced chives
2 pitted dates, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
2 tbsp plain unsweetened vegan yogurt
2 tbsp vegan mayo
2 tsp non-dairy milk like oat or soy
1/4 tsp sea salt

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Instructions

Fill a medium-sized mixing bowl with a mix of ice and water. Submerge your chopped celery into the ice water and let it sit while you prepare the rest of the salad. This ensures it is nice and crunchy.

Cut the very top and bottom off each blood orange. Stand the orange on its end (with one of the cuts facing down flat on your cutting board) and carefully cut the peel and pith away from the flesh of the orange. Then, cut between each membrane to remove the segments of orange. Repeat with the second orange and place the segments into a mixing bowl.

Add the minced chives, finely chopped dates, and chopped walnuts to the mixing bowl along with the oranges. Strain the chopped celery from the ice water and add it to the bowl as well.

In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the vegan yogurt, vegan mayo, non-dairy milk, and salt until smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Taste the salad and add more salt as needed. Enjoy immediately!

Notes

This recipe yields 2 side (smaller) servings of salad. Feel free to multiply the recipe as needed if you’d like to make more!
This salad is best enjoyed the day it’s made so plan accordingly. If you want to prepare the salad components ahead of time, I recommend keeping the dressing separate. Once you’re ready to enjoy your salad, toss everything together.
The amount of celery you need to yield 2 cups depends on the thickness of the stalks. Mine had thinner stalks so I needed the entire bunch but if yours has thicker stalks, you’ll only need about 4 stalks.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Category: side

Cashew Butter Blood Orange Tart (vegan with gf option) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

A stunning dessert without too much effort, this cashew butter chocolate tart with blood orange is the perfect balance of sweet, nutty, and creamy! The blood orange infuses a subtle citrus note throughout this vegan tart that makes it feel luxurious and special.

This tart started as an idea to recreate a gigantic peanut butter cup in tart form. On its own, it sounded like a pretty darn good idea! But then I started to tweak and refine it, as I often do with recipe ideas. I knew I wanted it to have a toasty graham-cracker crust. I really love cashew butter so it took the place of peanut butter. And I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use my favorite winter citrus: blood oranges!

So here we are, a luxurious vegan tart that doesn’t require too much effort but tastes like you spent hours making it! The great part about this tart is that the only baked component is the crust. And, the crust is pressed in which means you don’t have to faff around with rolling it out and trying to transfer it to the tart pan! The cashew butter portion of the tart only requires a bit of mixing while the chocolate portion is simply melted then poured over the tart. It’s super straightforward without any complicated techniques or equipment!

Why You Should Make This Tart

There’s minimal baking involved! All you have to do is bake the graham cracker crust for 13-15 minutes and that’s it! The rest of the tart comes together without any baking or cooking.
It’s essentially a gigantic and more refined version of a peanut butter cup…except we’re using cashew butter and blood oranges.
It’s completely vegan and really dang delicious. Plus, you can easily make it gluten free by using gluten free graham crackers!
Two words: BLOOD ORANGE. Their unique sweet and tangy flavor makes anything delicious.

The Recipe Components

There are 3 components: a graham cracker crust, a sweetened cashew butter filling with blood orange zest and juice, and a chocolate topping.

CRUST: The graham cracker crust is made from a mixture of graham crackers crumbs (I made my own by blitzing graham crackers in a blender), melted vegan butter, and sugar. Everything in mixed together then pressed into a buttered 9-inch tart pan (or pie pan). The crust is baked for just 12-14 minutes until it begins to turn golden brown. (tip: if you’d like to make the tart gluten free, simply use a gluten free graham cracker!)

FILLING: While the crust is baking, you can easily mix the filling components: room temperature coconut oil, cashew butter, powdered sugar, a pinch of salt, blood orange zest, blood orange juice, and vanilla extract. I used my stand mixer for this but you can also do it with a hand mixer or with a whisk and a bit of arm strength! Once it’s smooth, you’ll put it into the crust (it’s completely fine if the crust is still warm!) and smooth out the top.

TOPPING: The last component is the chocolate topping. You’ll melt your chocolate and coconut oil in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Once it’s fully melted and smooth, you’ll pour it over the cashew butter filling. It should spread out and cover the filling mostly on it’s own but you can help it as needed with a spoon or a spatula. All that’s left is to chill the tart for 6 hours in the fridge!

Tips for Recipe Success

Make sure to press the crust into the tart pan really well so that it holds together and isn’t super crumbly. You can do this with a spatula, a measuring cup like you see in the photos, or your hands.
Use your favorite vegan chocolate for the topping. Since the topping is just chocolate and coconut oil, you want to use a chocolate bar that is delicious enough to be eaten and savored on its own rather than a standard boring baking chocolate.
Chill the tart for at least 6 hours before enjoying it. This allows time for all of the flavors to mingle and for crust and filling to set and solidify.
When you remove the tart from the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes before slicing it. You’ll get a smoother slice without the chocolate topping fracturing!

Looking For Other Blood Orange Recipes?

Try these vegan and gluten free rosemary scones with a tangy blood orange glaze. Or for something savory, try this winter slaw with blood orange dressing.

Cashew Butter Chocolate Tart with Blood Orange

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 6 hours 40 minutes
Yield: 8 servings 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

for the crust

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/3 cup melted vegan butter, plus a little extra for greasing the pan

for the filling

1/4 cup room temperature coconut oil
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp blood orange zest (from about 2 blood oranges)
3 tbsp blood orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
heaped cup of cashew butter
pinch of sea salt

for the topping:

6 ounces vegan dark chocolate (I used this one)
3 tbsp coconut oil
blood orange slices and rind for decoration, optional
edible flowers for decorating, optional

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Instructions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom with vegan butter. You can simply use your fingers to spread it around. If you don’t have this pan, you can easily use a 9-inch pie pan. Set your greased pan aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted vegan butter. Mix until it looks like wet sand and begins to clump together. Dump this mixture into your prepared pan and press it into an even layer across the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Make sure to press tightly as this will ensure your crust is less crumbly. You can do this with a measuring cup, spatula, or your hands. Bake the crust in your preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until it is just turning golden around the edges. Allow the crust to cool slightly while you make the filling.

Add the room temperature coconut oil and powdered sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Alternately, you can do this with a large bowl and a whisk. Blend this mixture until very smooth, then add the blood orange zest and juice along with the vanilla. Mix these in, then add the cashew butter and sea salt. Blend until very smooth and creamy. Pour the filling mixture into the baked crust (it’s okay if the crust is still warm!) and smooth out the top. Set the filled tart aside while you make the topping.

Add an inch or two of water to a small pot and set it on the stove over medium-high heat. Once it comes to a simmer, set a bowl on top of the pot. You want to make sure the bottom of the bowl is not touching the water. Roughly chop or break up your chocolate and add it to the bowl along with the remaining coconut oil. Stir regularly until the chocolate has completely melted and is smooth. Pour the chocolate over the filling, making sure it covers the filling in a relatively even layer.

Chill the tart for 6 hours to allow everything to set and the flavors to develop. When you’re ready to serve the tart, allow it to sit out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes before slicing it. If you want, you can decorate the top of the tart with edible flowers and blood orange rind!

Notes

You can easily make your own graham cracker crumbs! Put your preferred graham crackers into a blender and pulse until broken down into crumbs. You can easily make this recipe gluten free by using a gluten free graham cracker.
Make sure to choose a dark chocolate that you like to eat on its own rather than a boring baking chocolate.
Don’t skip out on the chilling time! It ensures everything sets properly and lets the flavors develop. Plus, it makes the tart easier to cut.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Chilling Time: 6 hours
Cook Time: 12-14 minutes
Category: dessert