Calabrian Chiles Bring Bold Heat to This Apple and Celery Salad

You’ll be thinking about this unexpected, flavor-forward salad for days.

Ingredients

Sunflower seed and chile vinaigrette

1/3 cup unsalted roasted sunflower seed kernels, roughly chopped, plus more kernels for garnish

Garnish

1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallot

1 tablespoon seeded and minced jarred Calabrian chiles (about 8 chiles), plus 1 1/2  teaspoon reserved chile oil, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons lime zest plus 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, thinly sliced

Celery salad

1 bunch celery (about 1 1/2 pounds)

2 apples (such as Fuji or Honeycrisp), cored and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh dill fronds, roughly chopped, plus more dill fronds for garnish

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped, plus more parsley leaves for garnish

Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

Make the sunflower seed and chile vinaigrette

Stir together sunflower seed kernels, shallot, chiles, lime zest and juice, garlic, salt, and vinegar in a small bowl until combined. Whisk in olive oil, basil, cilantro, and reserved chile oil. Set aside.

Make the salad

Separate celery stalks, and wash thoroughly with cold water. Remove leaves, and chop enough leaves to yield 1/2 cup. Reserve remaining whole leaves for garnish; set aside. Cut celery stalks on a slight angle into 1/8-inch slices. Combine sliced celery, apple slices, dill, parsley, chopped celery leaves, and 1/2 cup sunflower seed and chile vinaigrette in a large bowl; toss until evenly coated. Season with salt to taste.

Divide salad among plates, and spoon additional vinaigrette over servings. Garnish with reserved celery leaves, dill, parsley, and sunflower seed kernels.