Salad

To pickle the celery: Put the celery in a small heatproof bowl. In a small pot, bring the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and 1⁄2 cup water to a boil, stirring so the sugar dissolves. Pour the boiling liquid over the celery, give it a stir, and let it cool to room temperature. It's good to go and keeps in the fridge for up to 1 month.

To make the dish: Set up a cool- ing rack or line a baking sheet with paper towels. Get 2 inches of oil to 350°F in a heavy pot over medium-high heat. While it's heating up, combine the sugar and salt in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the seltzer and flour and gently whisk it together until it's smooth. Pop this batter in the fridge until the oil's ready.

When you're ready to fry, core the apples, then slice them into half-moons that are somewhere between % and inch thick.

Working in four batches, dip the apple slices, one by one, in the batter, then carefully add them to the oil. Fry, flipping them once with tongs halfway through and trying your best to separate any that stick together, until they're light golden brown, 5 to 6 min- utes per batch. Move them to the cooling rack or prepared baking sheet and season with the sugar- salt mixture, then repeat with the rest of the batches.

Once the apples are all fried and seasoned up, move them to a platter. Spoon the Frank's over them and top with the candied walnuts, blue cheese, pickled celery (but not the liquid), and scallions. Grind on some pepper and serve with the bottle of Frank's on the table for anyone who's feeling extra spicy.

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, anchovies, capers and 1 clove of garlic. Whisk in ¼
   cup of the pecorino and season with lots of black pepper.
2. Trim the ends off the endive and lettuce and separate the leaves. Add them to the bowl of dressing and set aside.
3. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and bread pieces and cook, stirring and tossing frequently, until golden and crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the remaining garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for another minute to take the raw edge off the garlic. Add the remaining pecorino and cook for 30 seconds to crisp the cheese. Stir in the parsley and set aside.
4. Toss the salad well, then serve scattered with the breadcrumbs.

Note: The dressing and breadcrumbs can be made up to 3 days in advance. Transfer both to airtight containers and store the dressing in the fridge and the breadcrumbs at room temperature.

1. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then pour in the olive oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom with oil. Add the chickpeas and fry for about 6 minutes, or until golden. Whisk together the tamari, tomato paste, maple syrup, and liquid smoke. Pour over the chickpeas, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and cover to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, tear the greens into bite-size pieces, wash, and spin dry. Transfer to a large salad bowl and add the onion, tomatoes, avocado, and carrot. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Toss the vegetables to coat with dressing and divide the salad among serving bowls.
3. Sprinkle nutritional yeast over the warm chickpeas and stir to coat. Top the salad with hot chickpeas and a twist of freshly ground black pepper to taste, and serve it up!

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.
2. Parboil your carrots in boiling, salted water for 10 minutes, until they are very nearly cooked, then drain and put them into a roasting tray. You should flavour them while they’re steaming hot, so while the carrots are cooking get a pestle and mortar and smash up the cumin seeds, chillies, salt and pepper. Add the garlic and thyme leaves and smash up again until you have a kind of paste. The idea here is to build up the flavours. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to generously cover the paste, and a good swig of vinegar. This will be like a marinade, a rub and a dressing all in one! Stir together, then pour over the carrots in the tray, coating them well. Add the orange and lemon halves, cut-side down. These will roast along with the carrots, and their juice can be used as the basis of the dressing. Place in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden.
3. While the carrots are roasting, halve and peel your avocados, discarding the stones, then cut them into wedges lengthways and place in a big bowl. Remove the carrots from the oven and add them to the avocados. Carefully, using some tongs, squeeze the roasted orange and lemon juice into a bowl and add the same amount of extra virgin olive oil and a little swig of red wine vinegar. Season, and pour this dressing over the carrots and avocados. Mix together, have a taste and correct the seasoning. Call your gang round the table while you toast or griddle your ciabatta slices.
4. Tear the toasted bread into little pieces and add to the dressed carrot and avocado. Mix together, toss in the salad leaves and cress and transfer to a big platter or divide between individual plates. Spoon over a nice dollop of yoghurt, sprinkle over your toasted seeds and drizzle over some extra virgin olive oil.

1. Halve the sprouts and thinly slice them into ribbons lengthwise. Rub the slices gently between your fingers to separate the layers and put them into a large bowl. 2. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. 3. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the rendered bacon fat from the pan and return the pan to medium-high heat. Add the sprouts, salt, and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. 4. Transfer the sprouts to a large bowl, crumble the bacon on top, and add the apple pieces and cheese. Toss to combine, divide among 4 plates, and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Cut all the vegetables into a salad bowl, make the vinagrette mix together. Make Tuna Salad, and scoop on the site of the bowl.

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
2. Spread the nuts out on a rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven, about 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip the nuts over and allow them to cool.
3. While the nuts are toasting, make the dressing. In a big bowl, zest the peel from about a quarter of the lemon. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze all of the juice into the bowl.
4. Whisk in the cottage cheese, olive oil, salt and pepper. 
5. Cut the cucumber into small rounds or slices. (The choice is yours.)
6. Open up the big bag of salad and add it to the bowl with the dressing. Toss thoroughly to cover every leaf.
7. Add the cucumber, dill and nuts before tossing the salad again. Taste a leaf and add more salt and pepper as needed.