I'm totally with Dana on the celery dilemma. Whenever I buy a bundle for a recipe, half the stalks whither away in the drawer before I figure out what to do with them. The plan from here on out: give that leftover celery some sex-appeal.
The trouble is that celery is rarely the main ingredient in a dish. This makes it hard to envision doing much of anything with those leftover stalks besides throwing them in a stock or smearing them with peanut butter.
Let's see if some of these recipes give us a few more ideas:
• Celery and Apple Granita from Gourmet - Such an unusual and undoubtedly refreshing combo.
• Celery and Endive Slaw from Martha Stewart - A sprinkle of bleu cheese brings it all together.
• Bulgur, Celery, and Pomegranate Salad from 101 Cookbooks - This one is going in the lunch rotation.
• Celery and Pear Bisque from Bon Appétit - An interesting twist on the basic cream of celery soup.
• Cumin-Scented Stir-Fried Beef with Celery from Epicurious - Stir-frying is a great way to add celery to a warm dish while keeping its crisp.
• Celery Juleps from The Bitten Word - Oooh! An alternative to the bloody mary when using up celery!
• Young Corn and Celery Soup from La Tartine Gourmande - This one has celeriac in it, too!
• Celery Risotto with Pistachio Pesto from Pham Fatale - Green, green, and more green. I love it.
Do you have a favorite recipe with celery as the star?
Related: Recipe Review: Sexy Spicy Broccoli from The New York Times
(Images: John Kernick/Gourmet and Martha Stewart)
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If you store celery wrapped in tin foil instead of the plastic wrapping it comes in, it lasts much longer before it goes limp
ummm hello...someone forgot Ants on a Log! (Favorite childhood snack, celery sticks filled with peanut butter and topped with a line of raisins. A taste sensation!)
Mark Bittman's braised celery recipe converted my husband into a celery lover.
Ha ha, Ants-on-a-log is definitely our go-to for leftover celery as well, erinadair! So yummy, and brings me back to my girl scout days.
Stir-fry diced chicken thigh w/ celery.
One of my favorite homestyle Hong Kong recipes.
Whenever I buy celery (carrots, celery and onions are STAPLES in my veg armada), I always split the bunch in at least half. I do about a half inch dice on that, and add equal parts carrot and onion. Then, in a large pot or my wok, I saute all three in olive oil, a bit of salt and a bit of pepper (olive oil instead of butter in case of vegans, no additional seasoning to accommodate a variety of dishes) until the edges of the onions and celery are just beginning to become translucent. After allowing the mixture to cool, I spread it thinly on a sheet tray to freeze. Once frozen (or mostly frozen) I shake it off into a plastic bag (making sure to crumble apart any bits that have stuck together), and repeat until it's all frozen.
thus, I am left with a reasonable quantity of carrots and celery in my crisper (because the big bags of carrots are usually a better price anyway), plenty of ends to make into a veggie stock (frozen in the stock bag until I'm ready to make a batch), and a big bag of loose base for a quick soup, casserole, pasta sauce or goodness knows what all ready to go.
I also find that all of those veggies thaw more pleasantly when pre-cooked.
Celery never lasts long enough around here to be leftovers! My favorite way to eat celery is as a spoon, with green lentils and mustard. Mmmm.
a quick lunch salad - chopped celery, diced apples, toasted pecans, crumbled blue cheese, with a honey vinaigrette