Cheese1227's (brilliantly named) date night salad reminded me of this, one of my favorite salads that I haven't made in a while because I've been too busy trying new combinations. But, the combination of celery with Asian pear and fennel gives you this amazing wave of juicy crunchy texture along with the interplay of sweet, salty, and anise-y. The simple lemon dressing tastes similarly fresh and fruity, and the shavings of Grana Padano and toasty hazelnuts are very important for crunchy nuttiness. <br />I get mandolin happy with this salad and slice everything into thin, gangly slices that get all jumbled and tangled together. I really like this effect. If you don't, you can cut everything into small wieldy pieces instead. <br />And, I'm not going to require you to make brittle to do this but - and I know this sounds kind of crazy, but it's seriously delicious - if you have some sea-salty caramel brittle around, crunch up a handful of small shards and scatter them over the salad. Seriously. Dessert and salad can get along just fine.

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