Marcia Keisel, who has a celebrated career with F&W’s test kitchen that spanned 26 plus years, revives the nostalgic pleasure of relish trays with her refreshing celery-and-olive salad. This dish, inspired by the classic cocktail-hour snack tray laden with an assortment of sliced vegetables, pickles, and olives, is a breeze to prepare, serving as an ideal appetizer or accompaniment.

Keisel's recipe involves judicious celery preparation - peeling for a more enjoyable, string-free crunch, slicing it then dunking it in ice water for added crispiness. This prepped celery then meets an invigorating lemon dressing. The dressing, bursting with citrusy notes both from lemon zest and juice, invites an unexpected guest to the party - savory anchovies that blend seamlessly into the mixture. To deepen the flavor profile and build complexity, Keisel incorporates Castelvetrano olives and ricotta salata cheese.

These Italian olives, delineated by their namesake town in northwest Sicily, are prized for their meaty flesh and creamy texture. The Castelvetrano olives, with a mild and not overwhelmingly salty flavor profile, stand out due to their light green shade. They are bigger than their kalamata or black olive counterparts, sporting a pit that, despite being only a fraction smaller than an almond, can be easily separated from the flesh with a gentle hit from the flat side of a knife. Once removed, these olives can elevate a variety of dishes, from salads, pasta stir-fry, to being ground into a tapenade.

Ricotta salata is a saline, nuanced cheese that evolves from the process of pressing down ricotta cheese curds to extrude the liquid, followed by a brief aging period. In contrast to the creamy ricotta found in lasagna, this cheese offers a crumblier experience, resembling the texture of feta or queso fresco.

Here's a tip for peeling celery - Hold the stalk by its wider end, position it sideways and skim a Y-shaped peeler along to sheath off the outer layer. Rotate the stalk a bit and repeat, until the whole stalk is thoroughly peeled.

Separately refrigerate the drained celery and dressing in airtight containers overnight.

Blend these elements together - 15 large celery stalks from two 1.5-pound bunches, pared and chopped into a quarter inch by 2-inch sticks (about 6 cups), 6 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, three-quarters teaspoon of grated lemon zest with 3.5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons), 3 minced anchovy fillets, 3 minced small garlic cloves, half a teaspoon kosher salt, quarter tablespoon black pepper, three-quarters cup of chopped Castelvetrano olives, and 4 ounces of crumbled ricotta salata cheese. Fully immerse the celery in a large bowl of ice water and refrigerate until the celery curls up and is absolutely crispy, a readiness that can be achieved in a minimum of 2 hours to 8 hours.

Emulsify the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, anchovies, and garlic in a small bowl so that the mixture is smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set the dressing aside.

Take the celery out and dry it using a towel; ensure the bowl is cleaned. The celery goes back into the bowl, gets a toss with the olives and the reserved dressing. Transport the mix onto a platter, dust the ricotta salata on top, and it's ready to serve. As appeared originally in Food & Wine magazine, November 2024.