Humble, healthy celery gets starring role in three delicious dishes
Vegetable is full of essential vitamins, low in calories and works as chief ingredient in some delicious dishes
If celery were in a band, it would be a backup singer, capable of providing beautiful harmony, but rarely taking centre stage. Equate that to cooking and you will routinely see celery playing that backup role in stocks, stews, salads and Creole dishes. You know celery is in there somewhere and benefiting the overall taste, but not so much so that it gets second billing. Add celery to shrimp gumbo, and it is still going be called shrimp gumbo, not shrimp and celery gumbo.
Truth is, some vegetables are better suited to that backup role. But I’m a big fan of celery. It keeps well, has an appealing texture and taste raw or cooked, is an excellent source of potassium and also contains vitamin C, folic acid and vitamin B6. Celery is also low in calories, with 100 grams containing just 16 of them.
It is for those reasons that today I’ve decided to hand the mike to celery and let it be centre stage in three tasty recipes.
One is for a classic, cream of celery soup, a very comforting way to showcase celery’s unique, slightly bitter flavour that is not hard to make. Dice up a bunch of celery, sauté with a bit of onion and garlic, stir in flour to create a roux that helps thicken the stock you add next. Tarragon or thyme is added to complement the taste of the celery. When simmered and celery is tender, you mix in cream or milk, let it heat up, season with salt and pepper, and the soup is ready for the bowl. For a fresh taste, you could also top servings of the soup with chopped celery leaves.
My second recipe is an appetizer that has only five ingredients. You start by cutting celery, widthwise, in five-centimetre-long pieces. The pieces are then stuffed and topped with a blue cheese/cream cheese mixture and toasted walnuts, creating a crunchy, tangy snack you can prepare hours before needed.
My last recipe is for teriyakisauce-flavoured stir-fry that could be served as a main course, spooned over steamed rice or Asian noodles, or as side dish, for such dishes as steamed fish or Chinese-style barbecue pork ribs.
Like today’s other recipes, it is easy to make. Mix up a simple sauce, add it to a whack of sliced celery that has been stir-fried with complementary tastes, such as ginger, water chestnuts and cashews, simmer a few seconds, and serve.
Cream of Celery Soup
Make a simple lunch by serving this classic, celery-rich soup with biscuits or thick slices of crusty, buttered bread. Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: About 25 minutes Makes: four servings 3 Tbsp butter 1 1/2 cups finely diced celery (see Note) 1/2 medium onion, finely diced 1 small garlic clove, minced 1/2 tsp dried tarragon or thyme 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock (divided) 1 cup light cream or whole milk • salt and white pepper to taste 1 to 2 Tbsp chopped fresh celery leaves (optional)
Melt the butter in a pot set over medium heat. Mix in celery, onion and garlic and cook until softened, for about four to five minutes. Mix in the tarragon and flour and cook and stir one minute more.
Gradually pour in one cup of stock. When the mixture is thick, mix in remaining stock.
Bring the soup to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until celery is tender.
Add cream or milk, heat through a few minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish, if desired, with chopped fresh celery leaves. Note: Two very large, or three medium, stalks of celery should yield the amount needed for this recipe. To finely dice them, cut stalk, lengthwise, into thin strips. Now cut each strip, widthwise, into a fine dice.
Stuffed Celery with Blue Cheese and Toasted Walnuts
Easy to make, crunchy, tangy bites you can prepare a few hours before serving. To do so, once the celery is stuffed, tent with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. Cooking time: five minutes Preparation time: 20 minutes Makes: 24 pieces 1/4 cup walnut pieces (see Note) 24 (2-inch) pieces of celery (about 5 large celery stalks) 1 (250 gram) tub spreadable cream cheese 75 grams blue cheese, crumbled 1 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
Place the walnuts in a skillet and set over medium heat. Cook, swirling the pan from time to time, until walnuts are lightly toasted, about five minutes. Cool walnuts to room temperature.
With a vegetable peeler, trim a little from the curved side of each piece of celery so they sit flat. Now set them on a serving platter.
Set cream cheese, blue cheese and parsley in a medium bowl. Beat until well combined and lightened.
Pipe or spread some cheese mixture into each piece of celery, then top each with a few toasted walnut pieces. Tent with plastic wrap and refrigerate celery until ready to serve. Note:
Walnut pieces are sold in bags or in bulk at supermarkets. They can vary in size, so if the pieces you bought were on the larger side, chop them a bit before toasting to ensure you have small pieces of walnut to set on the celery.
Celery Stir-Fry with Water Chestnuts and Cashews
Have all your ingredients prepared and ready before making this quick-cooking stir-fry. Serve it as a main course or as a side dish. Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: About 4 minutes Makes: two (main course) or four (side dish) servings 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I used Kikkoman brand) 2 Tbsp orange juice 1 tsp honey 1 tsp rice or cider vinegar 1/2 tsp cornstarch 1 Tbsp vegetable oil 2 cups thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch) celery, cut on bias (about 3 to 4 ribs of celery, depending on size) 1 (8 oz./222g) can sliced water chestnuts, drained well 1/3 cup diced red bell pepper (about 1/2 small pepper) 2 tsp chopped fresh ginger 1/2 cup unsalted, roasted cashews
Combine the first five ingredients in a small bowl.
Place oil in a large skillet set over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the remaining ingredients. Stir fry for two to three minutes, or until the celery begins to soften. Pour in the teriyaki mixture and cook until a lightly thickened sauce forms, about one minute, then serve. Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.