Don’t fear, the stracciatella in this salad means stracciatella cheese (not gelato, although that sounds delicious in any non-salad capacity), but the cheese version makes an amazing lemon poppyseed salad, if I do say so myself. The cheese makes everything a touch creamy, while the poppy seeds and lemon juice add a nice nuttiness, brightness and crunch.
I am usually not the hugest fan of celery, but when you slice it very thin and combine it with herbs, leafy greens, olive oil and few of my favorite acidic counterparts, it makes a really easy, simple and filling salad. Like, this is the kind of salad I’d get at a restaurant and rave about, despite not even knowing how little goes into it. The cheese is just a bonus here, and can be easily swapped for burrata, mozzarella, ricotta, really any mild cheese that you love. Or even a not-so-mild cheese – let’s play with fire 😉
Table of contents
Ingredients you’ll need for this lemon poppy salad
- 4-5 large stalks of celery
- 1 cup leafy greens of choice optional, I like arugula, red leaf lettuce, or spring mix
- 1 large green radish substitutes include red radishes, Japanese turnips, cucumber
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 large lemon for zest and juice
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 4 ounces stracciatella cheese substitutes include mozzarella, burrata, or ricotta
How to prepare this simple stracciatella salad
- Thinly slice the celery at a sharp diagonal. Tear up the leafy greens, thinly slice the radish, chiffonade cut the basil and mint.
- In a large bowl, grate in the garlic cloves, then grate in the zest from half the lemon, about a teaspoon. Add the juice from the lemon, the olive oil, the vinegar and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine then add in all the vegetables. Toss to coat, season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more vinegar, salt and pepper as you see fit.
- In a small pan over medium heat, toast the poppy seeds for 4-5 minutes, or until they are noticeably nutty and fragrant. Add these into the salad and toss.
- To serve, tear the stracciatella on top of the salad, creating long creamy lines of cheese. Top with more lemon zest, black pepper and olive oil. Serve with crusty bread!
What can I substitute for poppy seeds?
While I really love the poppy seeds in this, and I think they add something unique and special to this recipe, they can be easily subbed for something like mustard seeds (keep them uncrushed, or else it will be too pungent), crushed pistachios (roasted and salted, of course), or pine nuts. Those are my top 3 favorite subs, and most of them should be pretty easy to find!
Looking for other easy and bright salad recipes?
And that’s it for this lemon poppy salad!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.
Lemon Poppy Salad with Stracciatella Cheese
Equipment
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 small stainless steel pan
Ingredients
- 4-5 large stalks of celery
- 1 cup leafy greens of choice optional, I like arugula, red leaf lettuce, or spring mix
- 1 large green radish substitutes include red radishes, Japanese turnips, cucumber
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 large lemon for zest and juice
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 4 ounces stracciatella cheese substitutes include mozzarella, burrata, or ricotta
Instructions
- Thinly slice the celery at a sharp diagonal. Tear up the leafy greens, thinly slice the radish, chiffonade cut the basil and mint.
- In a large bowl, grate in the garlic cloves, then grate in the zest from half the lemon, about a teaspoon. Add the juice from the lemon, the olive oil, the vinegar and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine then add in all the vegetables. Toss to coat, season with salt and pepper. Taste and add more vinegar, salt and pepper as you see fit.
- In a small pan over medium heat, toast the poppy seeds for 4-5 minutes, or until they are noticeably nutty and fragrant. Add these into the salad and toss.
- To serve, tear the stracciatella on top of the salad, creating long creamy lines of cheese. Top with more lemon zest, black pepper and olive oil. Serve with crusty bread!
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