Vegetable Feature: Celery

By Andrea Yoder

     Last week the featured vegetable was celeriac, otherwise known as celery root. This week we are featuring its familiar cousin, celery. While these two vegetables are similar, they have some distinct differences. Celery is grown for its stalks above ground while celeriac is grown for its root. If you’ve never had celery grown in Wisconsin, you are in for a treat. It’s remarkable how much better it tastes than the celery grown in California!
     The celery in your box this week may look a little different than the celery you may be accustomed to seeing in the grocery store. Celery is actually a fairly large plant. It has a center core and section of stalks which are the portion of the plant most commonly eaten. Around this center, the plant sends up smaller stalks which actually cover up and shade the center from the sun. This results in blanching the center core which means it is lighter in color than the stalks in the outer portion. Normally these smaller stalks are trimmed away at the time of harvest, but this outer celery is completely usable and very delicious! So, we asked our harvest crew to leave the outer portion intact and we chose to send you the whole thing! All you need to do is cut the stalks off the main base and wash them well. Don’t discard the leaves, they too are edible and contain a lot of flavor. They can be added to stock or soup for flavor. You can also use them to make celery salt or you can make celery pesto!
     Celery is often used as a background flavor and ingredient, but seldom is it the star of the show. It is a staple ingredient used in the classical method for making stock, but is also often used to add background flavor to soups, braised meats and some fall and winter salads. It is cool and refreshing with a crunchy texture.  Celery pairs well with butter, olive oil, cream, walnuts, Parmesan, cheddar, blue cheese, pears, apples, olives, capers, potatoes, carrots and herbs including parsley, dill and cumin.
     Slice it thinly and add it in a salad or quickly stir-fry the thin slices and then drizzle with toasted sesame oil. Celery is also a delicious ingredient in fall and winter soups. It can be used to round out the flavor when combined with other vegetables, or make it the featured vegetable in preparations such as cream of celery soup.
     Store celery loosely wrapped in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. It will keep for several weeks.

Chunky Celery Soup

Yields: 6 servings

1 large onion

Photo borrowed from Heidi Swanson's blog

1 large potato

3-4 small to medium carrots

10 medium-length stalks of celery, washed well

3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

5 cups of lightly-flavored, great tasting, vegetable broth (or water)

2 cups cooked wild rice, brown rice, barley, or wheat berries

⅓ cup celery leaf pesto (optional, see recipe below)

Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (optional)

1. Chop the onion, potato, carrots, and celery into pieces that are about ½ inch or smaller. Do your best to cut everything roughly the same size, this will keep cooking time across the ingredients somewhat uniform. You should end up with about 2 ½ cups of chopped celery.

2. In a large thick-bottomed soup pot over medium high heat combine the olive oil, onion, potato, carrots, celery and a few big pinches of salt. Sauté for about ten minutes or until the onions and celery soften a touch and expel some water. Stir in the garlic and add the stock. Bring to a simmer and let cook for another 10 minutes or until the celery, carrot and potatoes are just cooked through - resist the urge to over cook them into mush. 

3. Stir in the rice a few minutes before the potatoes and carrot are cooked though. Remove the soup from the heat and ladle into soup bowls. Top each with a generous drizzle of the celery leaf pesto (optional) and/or some Parmesan cheese.

Photo borrowed from Heidi Swanson's blog

Celery Leaf Pesto

1 cup (lightly packed) celery leaves

1 large clove of garlic

¼ tsp salt

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Purée all of these ingredients in a food processor for about 30 seconds.

Recipe borrowed from Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101cookbooks.com.

Vegetable Feature: Celery

by Beth Brown-Lucas

Harvesting Celery

Celery is considered by most people to be a kitchen “staple”, much like potatoes, onions or garlic. It is often used more like an herb than a vegetable, being used to flavor stocks and soups or added to a pot roast. It’s also used as a snack food, and who doesn’t love pairing celery with peanut butter and raisins for the classic Ants on a Log?

Celery can be a difficult vegetable to grow. We estimate that we have 40-50% good, harvestable celery out of what we plant. Celery is very susceptible to aster yellows disease. Even with these challenges, we choose to continue to grow a small amount of celery for our CSA and market members. We prefer growing celeriac as it is much more resistant to aster yellows disease.

Celery Bin

Nonetheless, the celery we grow is delicious and has great flavor. We trialed many varieties, and there are not many available. Our celery is grown from seed gifted to us from our friends at Seedway. We are growing two varieties-Tango and Merengo. The Tango is not as disease resistant, while the Merengo has a better success rate. Richard estimates we are able to harvest 60-65% of the Merengo variety.

Fresvindo shows off his celery harvest

When it comes to preparing your celery, you may find it to be a little different than the California celery found at the store. Wisconsin-grown celery has much more flavor! The outer stalks are best used to flavor stocks and soups or roasted with other vegetables. They can also be sliced thinly and stir-fried or tossed with a light vinaigrette in a salad. The inner stalks are suitable for eating raw-try pairing with cheese or, of course, peanut butter! Celery leaves can also be used to add flavor to stocks, stews or a green salad. You could also dry the leaves and make your own celery salt. It’s a very simple process, and there are several tutorials available online to guide you through it. Celery also has a strong enough flavor that it can be the main flavor in a pureed soup, especially with a little cream and bacon! Check out the recipes below for more cooking ideas.

Curried Celery Soup

Servings:  4-6
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced
5 ½ cups chopped celery
1 Tbsp medium or hot curry powder
1 ½ cups washed and diced unpeeled potatoes
3 ¾ cups vegetable stock
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mixed herbs (parsley, thyme, etc)
Salt, to taste
Celery seeds and leaves, to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, leek and celery.  Cover, and cook slowly for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  
2. Add the curry powder and continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. 
3. Add the potatoes and stock.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, but not too soft.  
4. Remove the soup from the heat and cool slightly before processing it.
5. Transfer the soup to a blender or food processor and process in batches until smooth.
6. Add the mixed herbs, season to taste with salt and process briefly again.  Return to the saucepan and reheat slowly until piping hot.  Ladle into warm bowls and garnish each one with a sprinkling of celery seeds and a few celery leaves before serving.

Recipe sourced from The Soup Bible edited by Debra Mayhew.

Mushroom & Celery Salad with Parmesan Cheese

Servings:  6
6 ounces fresh white or cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
3 ounces fresh oyster mushrooms, thinly sliced
3-4 stalks celery
3 ½ Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 ½ Tbsp finely chopped shallot
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces baby spinach, baby kale or salad mix
3 ounces Parmesan cheese

1. Lay the mushrooms on sheets of paper towel;  cover with clean, damp kitchen towels.  Thinly slice the celery, and transfer it to a bowl; cover with plastic.  Refrigerate both until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
2. Stir together the lemon juice and shallot.  Let stand at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours.  Whisk in the oil until emulsified, and season with salt and pepper.  Toss the mushrooms and celery with the dressing;  let stand 10 minutes.  Divide the greens among plates, and top with the mushroom mixture. Shave the cheese with a vegetable peeler over the top of the salad.

Recipe adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook:  The New Classics.