The Celery Stalk: A Magic Wand in the Kitchen

Like Don Rickles, celery doesn't get much respect. It's cut into sticks for kids' lunchboxes or chopped into tuna salad just to add crunch. Dismissing it is a shame. A celery stalk is a magic wand.  It turns you into a kitchen wizard who performs miracles with just about anything stuck in the fridge or on the shelf. It perks up, soothes and sweetens --without adding a calorie. Plus it lasts a long time in the fridge. Best of all, it's cheap and easy to find. Little wonder Tuscan and French cooks start most of their favorite dishes by chopping and sauteing it. It's in the Holy Trinity at the heart of all that tasty Cajun food. It's a must have right now when mushrooms are popping up, a reach for when you want soulful pizazz in barley or farro. Here are eight examples of the fast magic you too can make with a stalk of celery, to convince you to keep some handy.

Pasta e Fagioli

Comfort food doesn't get more comforting than this classic, utterly simple Italian combination of beans, tomatoes and macaroni that can be either a soup or a bowl of pasta. It shows off the secret scent and sweetness of celery.

Serves 6

1 cup dried white beans  (Great Northern, Cranberry, Cannellini)**

2-3 tbsp olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot)

1 sm yellow onion, diced

1 tsp dried rosemary leaves

1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

2 sm or 1 lg carrot, peeled and diced

1 lg celery stalk, diced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried sage

1 cup chopped tomatoes in their juice (canned or boxed is okay)

4 cups vegetable or beef broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

¾ cup tubellini, ditalini, or other very small pasta

½ cup freshly minced flat leaf parsley

Parmesan cheese for garnish

**THE INSTANT WAY TO MAKE THIS IS TO USE A CAN OF COOKED CANNELLINI BEANS

The long way: soak the beans overnight. Then drain and rinse. 

Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot. Add the black pepper, onion, carrot and celery. Sauté over medium/low heat 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Do not brown. Add rosemary, oregano and sage and stir to blend. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are hot and bubbling. Add black pepper, salt and red pepper flakes. Add the uncooked beans and broth and cook 90 minutes until beans are soft. Add the macaroni and cook another 10 minutes.

INSTANT WAY: Add the canned beans to the tomato mixture. Slowly add the broth. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add the macaroni and cook another 12-15 minutes until it is soft and the soup is fragrant.

Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and ladle into bowls. Top with freshly grated cheese.

Braised Chicken with Celery and Mushrooms

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil or butter

2 skinless chicken leg-thigh quarters

1 skin-on chicken breast, split to yield 2 halves 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper  

3 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and chopped

4 carrots, chopped

6 celery ribs, chopped, leaves reserved for garnish

1 lb fresh mushrooms, quartered or sliced

3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried

2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried leaves 

2 c chicken stock

Heat oven to 350º. Put the olive oil or butter in a roasting pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sprinkle the leg quarters with salt and pepper and add them to the pan, flesh side down. Cook, turning and rotating the pieces as necessary, until well browned on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove, then add the breast halves, skin side down. Brown them well, then flip and cook 1 minute or so; remove to a separate plate.

Put leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms and herbs in the same pan and cook until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

 Nestle the leg quarters among the vegetables, meaty side up (hold the breasts til later). Add enough chicken stock to come about halfway up the thighs. (The amount will depend on the breadth of your pan; add a little water if necessary.)

Put the pan in the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 1 hour, checking occasionally and stirring the vegetables  if they threaten to brown too much. When the thigh meat is tender, raise the heat to 400º and lay the breast halves on the vegetables, skin side up. Continue cooking 20 to 30 minutes longer until they are done.

   
Transfer the vegetables to a platter. Slice the breasts and and separate the legs from the thighs. Garnish with reserved chopped celery leaves.

Macedonian Bean Soup with Colored Peppers

A perfect fall dish when bell peppers are at high tide in farmers' markets. 

Serves 6

1 lb dried white beans (Great Northern, Kidney, navy, cannellini)

2 med/lg carrots, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery with leaves, diced

1 lg onion, peeled and diced

1/4 tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper

1 tsp dried sage

3½ cups vegetable broth

3 red bell peppers, roasted and peeled

2 yellow or orange bell peppers, roasted and peeled

2 tbsp red wine vinegar (Balsamic is too strong)

5-6 tbsp olive oil

18-20 pitted Kalamata olives, slivered

Salt to your taste

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pick over the beans. Soak in enough water to cover and refrigerate overnight.

  

Roast the peppers. Remove stems, skin membrane and seeds. Chop into small ¼” cubes.  Combine peppers, vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil in a glass or ceramic small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the beans. Put in a large pan, cover well with cold water and bring to a boil.

Boil for 5 minutes. Drain well.

In a large, heavy gauge soup pot, heat enough olive oil 4-5 tbsp to cover the bottom.

Add carrots, celery, onion, black pepper and sage. Sauté on low heat for 2 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in the beans. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours until beans are tender.

Drain peppers. Add peppers and olives to the warm soup. Add salt to your taste and finally the lemon juice.

 Serve immediately.

Celery Date Salad

I've posted this before with other date recipes so now here it is with the spotlight on the crunchy celery.

8 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal. Chop the leaves too.

6 fresh dates, pitted and coarsely chopped

1/2 c roasted almonds, halve. Whole is okay too.

1/2 sm red onion, diced

2 tsp minced fresh mint leaves

pinch red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 oz shaved Parmesan cheese 

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/4 c extra good olive oil

Combine celery and leaves, dates, almonds, onion and pepper flakes in a serving bowl. Moisten with the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese and olive oil and lastly stir in the mint leaves.

Persian Celery Stew with saffron
One of my all time favorites and my Eureka! about celery, this is in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, and I've posted it before. It's just sublime, divinely simple and absolutely perfect for that Thanksgiving turkey dinner.

Serves 6-8

1½ bunches of celery, stalks apart and cleaned

4 tbsp butter

1 lg red onion, peeled and diced

¼ tsp freshly cracked or ground black pepper

2 bunches flat leaf parsley, cleaned and chopped (at least 3 cups)

¼ tsp saffron

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp dried crushed mint

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut celery into 1” pieces, even leaves.

 Melt butter in a large saucepan or medium casserole. Sauté onion over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add black pepper and celery and continue to sauté 5 minutes.  Add half the parsley (1½ cups or one bunch), saffron and vegetable broth. Stir to blend. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes. Add remainder of parsley except for 1 tbsp. Add mint, salt and lemon juice, stirring to blend. Continue cooking for 10-12 minutes or until celery is soft.  Adjust for salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining chopped parsley to serve.  

 

Osso Bucco

Back to the northern Italians who just love to season with celery. 
serves 6

1 c yellow onion, finely diced
2/3 c carrots, finely diced
2/3 c celery, finely diced
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 strips lemon peel
1/2 c vegetable oil
4-6 sm veal shanks
3/4 c all purpose white flour
1 c dry white wine
1 1/2 c beef broth
1 1/2 c chopped Italian tomatoes with juice (boxed is fine)
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley
freshly ground black pepper
salt to your taste

Heat the oven to 350º. Use a heavy casserole with a tight lid large enough to hold the veal in a single layer, standing up is fine.

Melt the butter in that casserole over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and sauté until they are soft, 6-8 minutes. Do not brown them. Add the chopped garlic and lemon peel and remove from the heat.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and coat each veal shank lightly on both sides, shaking as you finish.
Heat the oil in  a large skillet over medium/high heat and brown the veal on all sides. Then put it in the casserole with the vegetables, standing side by side if necessary.

Skim the fat from the oil and add the wine. Boil briskly, scraping the bottom, for 2 minutes. Pour over the veal.  Add the broth, chopped tomatoes with juice, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, pepper and salt. Make sure the veal is just covered by the broth. Bring this to a boil, cover and place in the oven for 75-90 minutes--until the veal is tender. Try to turn and baste the meat at least once, twice is better. The sauce should be thick and creamy now too. Remove the meat to a platter. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce. If the sauce is not thick, put the casserole on medium high heat on the stove top and boil to the desired consistency. Pour over the veal and serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Cajun Gumbo

Most Cajun soul food starts with a stalk of celery as it's part of the Holy Trinity at the heart of crawfish etouffee, jambalaya and all the gumbos: celery, bell peppers and onion. This is one of the most authentic recipes I could find to share.

1 c vegetable oil

1 c all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c chopped onion

1 c chopped green bell pepper

1 c chopped red bell pepper

1 c chopped celery

3 tbsp minced garlic

3 c chopped okra

1 1/2 c dark beer

6 c seafood stock

2 tbsp file powder

2 bay leaves

2 tsps Cajun seasoning

1 (8-ounce) container crab claw meat, picked free of shells

3 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb medium fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lb red snapper fillets, chopped

2 (8-ounce) containers shucked oysters

1 (8-ounce) container jumbo lump crabmeat, picked free of shells

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Hot cooked rice

Garnish: chopped green onion

In an 8-quart stockpot, heat oil over medium heat 5 minutes; add flour, and stir together to form a roux. Cook, stirring often, until roux is the color of peanut butter, about 20 minutes.

Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and okra. Cook vegetables, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add beer, stock, file powder, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, crab claw meat, Worcestershire, salt, and cayenne. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer 1 hour.

Add shrimp, fish, oysters, and lump crabmeat to mixture. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until seafood is cooked through; add parsley.

Serve with rice, and garnish with green onion, if desired.

Mushroom Barley "risotto" with or without lamb
My version of traditional Scotch Broth.

serves 4-6

1 cup pearl barley

3 cups mushroom or vegetable broth

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lg onion, peeled and diced (red onion adds color)

1 sm green bell pepper coarsely chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 sm pasilla pepper, roasted, peeled and coarsely chopped

3 celery stalks, washed and diced

2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1/4 tsp Szechuan peppercorns (don’t fret if you don’t have them)

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp dried rosemary

½ tsp celery seed

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp ground clove

½ tbsp butter

¼ tsp freshly or coarsely ground black pepper

½ lb mixed mushrooms (shitake, crimini, button, Portobello, oyster), cleaned

 ½ roasted red pepper, diced, or a 2 oz jar of sliced pimentos, drained

Optional: 1/2 lb lamb stew meat diced into 1" pieces

juice of a lemon

1 tsp salt

2-3 oz baby spinach leaves

Heat the oil in a medium stockpot or large heavy gauge casserole. Add onion and sauté over medium heat 3-5 minutes until it’s lightly brown and glistening. If using the lamb brown it with the onions 3 minutes.

Add the green pepper, Poblano pepper, barley, thyme, Szechuan peppercorns and oregano.  Continue sautéing for a minute, stirring so nothing sticks and the barley gets hot. Add the celery, rosemary, celery seed, cumin, clove and coriander, stirring to blend. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover the pot. Simmer one hour on low. (You don’t have to worry about overcooking this.)

Slice and chop mushrooms into large bite-sized chunks. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium low heat and when it’s bubbling add the mushrooms. Add black pepper. Sauté one minute. Remove from heat.

When the barley has been cooking for at least an hour and is starting to be soft to the teeth, add the contents of the mushroom sauté, the pimentos or roasted red pepper, and salt. Blend into the barley. Continue cooking  until the barley is tender. Add liquid if necessary to prevent burning.

Stir in the lemon juice. Put the spinach leaves on top, cover, turn off heat and let the spinach steam 3 minutes.

Serve hot.

You will also find Celery, Fennel and White Bean Soup, plus Mirepoix Soup (mirepoix is the French starter seasoning made of celery, carrots and onion) in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking.