Save the Celery

Veg crisper neglect & tiptoeing into spring

When I was a kid, celery was diet food. Along with carrot sticks, celery was imbued with the power of guaranteed slimness if you only snacked on “rabbit food.” Didja know that munching on celery even burns calories (not)! Poor celery, always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

I recently heard some radio ads by a loud peanut butter company that joked about respecting celery, encouraging a healthy partnership with their product. Finishing their pitch with an admonition to reject allowing celery to only be the jewelry (I think this is my embroidery, not theirs) for chicken wings. I actually listened to the entire spot—it made me laugh in agreement. And got me to thinking about celery as more than the aromatic foundation for recipes—a French mirepoix, Italian soffritto, or the “holy trinity” of Cajun & Creole cooking are nothing without it. German and Polish cooking pull in celeriac (celery root) as a must for soups & stews. So no slouch in the kitchen, celery should not languish in the crisper if all you need in the moment is a rib or two for a potato salad.

To satisfy my curiosity about formal celery recipes, I worked my way through my hardcopy (yes, I still have lots of those) cookbook collection, doing an analog index search. And the variety of suggestions were limited (if they existed), often with just a brief mention between carrots, cabbage, cauliflower & before jumping into chard and chicken. Celeriac might get a smidge more attention. But highlighting a bunch or “stalk” of celery (the individual sticks are “ribs”) as a featured ingredient is pretty slim. I think because of its fibrous nature, most people are much more about raw celery—in a supporting, crunchy, role. A member of the parsley family (carrots, fennel, and parsnips are siblings), celery is really a winter veg but is available year ‘round for us. And has an affinity for lots of other foods and flavors. Think all kinds of salads—or as a pseudo stand-in for salads (spicy chicken wings with blue cheese dressing + celery sticks). Or a great Bloody Mary. Which I maintain is the epitome of a brunch salad: briny olives & a couple of long leafy celery sticks garnishing a tall icy glass of spicy tomato and celery seed-spiked brew, with a celery salted rim. Qualifies as salad for me.

Dressed in either a creamy dressing or tangy lemon vinaigrette, celery is essential in a perfect potato or tuna salad; an autumn Waldorf salad with tart apples and toasted walnuts; or tossed with thinly sliced just-ripe Bosc pears, garnished with chopped dates & crumbled gorgonzola cheese. But what if you do have some slightly limp celery in the bottom of the crisper drawer (kind of a misnomer, when you end up with sad produce)? And feel guilty about relegating it to the compost bin?

Here you go—a riff on a classic oven braise, adapted from something I vaguely recall making in cooking school. But I’m jazzing it up with a green herbal sauce that’s a little crunchy with celery. Spoon the sauce leftovers on whatever you like & switch up the herbs you use as more choices show up in your garden or farmers market (try some lovage, a leafy perennial that’s a kissing cousin to parsley. It’s citrusy & intense celery-like flavor would be great.) Soon asparagus, artichokes, and loads of other showy spring greens will nudge over steady Eddy veg like celery—don’t forget to give it a little love!

OVEN-BRAISED CELERY

Makes 4 servings

I like to use the top halves of the celery ribs in this prep, since they are less fibrous. If you choose to use full ribs, you can use a vegetable peeler to pull the larger strings from the lower ends so the entire dish is meltingly tender when it’s finished. To make quick crispy breadcrumbs, sauté some panko in butter or olive oil with a finely chopped garlic clove.

INGREDIENTS

1 large bunch (stalk or head) celery, trimmed & sliced into 4-inch lengths (save the leaves and tender inner ribs for the salsa below)

½ small red onion, cut into thin wedges

½ cup rich chicken stock

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon sherry or white wine vinegar

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Garlicky breadcrumbs, if you’d like

Celery Salsa Verde (see below)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 400˚F. Arrange the celery piece and red onion in a large oven-safe skillet or 1-1/2 quart baking dish.

2. Mix the chicken stock, olive oil, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Pour mixture over the celery and onions; cover with foil and place in oven.

3. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until celery is very tender. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs before serving. Spoon some Celery Salsa Verde on top or serve alongside for everyone to add their own.

CELERY SALSA VERDE

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

A salsa verde is just a super-charged way to use green herbs and all sorts of green leaves for nice, sort- of-chunky, sauces to spike dishes at the table. Salsa verdes are often fairly pungent & add contrast in flavor and texture to foods at the table. Consider adding some finely chopped hot chile, a bit of anchovy, or some preserved lemon if you’d like to amp things up. Featuring the crunch of celery is somewhat different—I’ve seen versions in Moroccan cooking, but it’s not common.

INGREDIENTS

1-1/4 cups flat-leaf parsley leaves (and some stems)

1/3 cup celery leaves (or ¼ cup lovage leaves)

1/3 cup well-rinsed nonpareil (small) capers

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh dill

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon celery seed

¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 ribs celery, diced (1/4-inch pieces)

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice (from that lemon you zested)

1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the parsley, celery leaves, capers, dill, lemon zest, and celery seed in a mini chopper. Buzz it up to a coarse paste. Pour in ½ cup olive oil; pulse until well blended.

2. Toss the diced celery, lemon juice, and garlic together in a medium bowl. Pour the processed herb mixture into the bowl, with the remaining ¼ cup olive oil. Stir until well mixed. Season with salt and pepper.

Printable Braised Celery & Celery Salsa Verde

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