It’s hard for me to elevate celery beyond the ranks of diet or rabbit food. Sure it has its rightful place adjacent to a basket of wings and in mirapoix, Cajun trinity, or a blood mary. But who really loves celery?
I’ve neglected my CSA celery for the past few weeks, and yesterday I succumbed to pangs of guilt. I had to use it. Had to give my thanks to the farmer. Wilted waste in the veggie drawer is the ultimate sign of disrespect.
Somewhere distant in my memory, I recalled eating braised celery in a restaurant and being surprised by how much I enjoyed it. A quick search turned up an Alton Brown recipe that called for a slim five ingredients (counting salt and pepper) and took about 15 minutes to cook. Sold.
After cleaning and peeling tough spots from eight celery stalks, you cut them into 1-inch pieces and cook them for 5 minutes in a tablespoon of butter, with S & P to taste. Add 1/2 cup stock (I used chicken, Alton uses beef) to the pan, cover and cook five minutes more. Remove the lid, and cook five minutes more.
Yes, it’s that easy. And the recipe yields firm but yielding, buttery, salty bites of celery that have lost their vegetal celery-ness to something that looks and tastes a lot like a bona fide side dish.
Now, is this something you’ll crave? A recipe you’ll want to return to week after week? Probably not, it’s celery after all. But if you have a fat bunch of stalks that will otherwise go to waste or you need to whip up an extra side dish pronto, braised celery is a fine option. Who knew?
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Yes, celery is certainly under-rated, though the French serve it braised often too, don’t they?
I did a really wonderful cream of celery soup a while back, using a few left over veggies in the fridge. Very flavorful. Who knew?!