Joshua McFadden has a knack for vegetables. You can thank him for the widespread love of the kale salad, which stemmed from the version he created while chef de cuisine at Franny's in Brooklyn. Currently, he's at the helm of Ava Gene's and its little sister restaurant, Roman Candle, both in Portland. The salads and vegetables are some of my favorite dishes on both menus. At a recent visit to Roman Candle, the waitress sold us on a new vegetable dish they were serving composed of celery, anchovy, raisins, and walnuts. It was fantastic -- crispy, crunchy, salty, fresh, and nutty. The humblest of ingredients combined into something magical. I'm not certain how it's made at Roman Candle, but this is my version. Note: Celery is one of the "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables for pesticide contamination, so please buy organic :-)

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