Steamed celery with pickled walnuts and Peter's guanciale

Serves 4

Steamed celery with pickled walnuts and Peter's guanciale (Jason Lowe)

Here I've served the celery rather like you would asparagus or sea kale. Peter Hannan, one of our great meat suppliers, won a gold at the Great Taste Awards with his Moyallon guanciale, which is a dry cured, lightly spiced pig jowel which you can serve sliced or cubed and pan-fried.

6 -8 sticks of celery, peeled if stringy
A handful of celery leaves
120-150g guanciale or a cured ham
4 pickled walnuts, quartered or sliced and a tablespoon or so of the pickling liquor
3tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the celery into 10-12cm x 1cm sticks, cook them in boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes until tender and then drain. Slice the guanciale as thinly as possible. Whisk the walnut pickling liquor together with the olive oil and season.

Arrange the celery on serving plates with the guanciale and walnuts, spoon over the dressing; scatter over the leaves.