Celery Relish

I found this simple relish when I first started trying to reduce the sodium I eat. The first time I made it, I didn't even think it was that different from cucumber relish. It is tasty, and just sweet enough to balance the tartness of the lemon juice. It has become a staple, even though I have to freeze it.

I think what I love the most about this relish is that I make it with the left over celery. It does take a fair amount of celery, but when you're one person, it's pretty hard to go through a bunch of celery before it goes bad. While I do freeze celery for soups, having another use is great, and having a salt free relish I like to add to mayo to boost a salad dressing, or add to a burger or other meat feels like a luxury.

It takes a bit of work because I like it chopped fine, and for some reason I never considered using the food processor. I didn't think that it would chop into appealing pieces and when I tried chopping the celery fine for another recipe I found I was right. It comes out too varied in shape to be appealing as a relish. I always cut it by hand as part of preparing the celery for the freezer, just a homey little job I seem to derive a lot of pleasure from. It also gives the relish a nice uniform look.

I 'm not a huge relish eater but you know when only one ingredient will do, you just have to have it. I find the substitution very satisfying. Because I don't eat a lot of it, I freeze it in very small single serving containers that way taking out only what I need. It freezes very well, although I don't really know how long because I usually use it up in about 6 months.

So, in your bid to reduce your salt, here is a tasty relish recipe that is absolutely worth trying.