TWO-CELERY SALAD

SERVES 6

I LOVE THE IDEA OF COMBINING these two varieties of celery, one bred for its green stalk, the other for its mellow white root. While celery remoulade is a classic salad, adding the stalks really celebrates the vegetable. It may seem old-fashioned, but the hard-boiled egg and the caper mayonnaise ensure that the result is far greater than the sum of its parts.

6 stalks celery, peeled and very thinly sliced on the diagonal

2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

Fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper

1 celery root, cut into matchsticks and blanched

½ recipe Mayonnaise (here)

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill

1 heaping tablespoon capers, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs (optional), whites and yolks each pushed through a fine-mesh strainer with a rubber spatula or bench scraper and kept separate

Blanch half the sliced celery stalks and keep the other half raw. After blanching both of the celeries, be sure to pat them dry so that water will not dilute the mayonnaise. Combine the raw and blanched sliced celery stalks, vinegar, and oil in a medium bowl, then add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. In another bowl, combine the celery root with the mayonnaise, parsley, dill, capers, salt, and pepper. Arrange the celery root on a platter, sprinkle with the egg yolks and whites, then scatter the raw and blanched celery stalks on top.