Let’s be honest, celery often gets relegated to the sad corner of the veggie tray or drowned in dip. It’s seen as bland, stringy, or just plain boring. But this humble stalk holds so much more potential! With a little creativity, celery can transform from a dutiful dipper into a star ingredient, adding fantastic crunch, freshness, and subtle savoury notes to a surprising variety of dishes. Forget everything you thought you knew – it’s time to explore the genuinely tasty and healthy ways to bring celery into your kitchen rotation.
First things first, start with good celery. Look for firm, tightly packed stalks with vibrant green colour. Avoid bunches that look limp, rubbery, or have brown spots. The leaves, if attached, should look fresh and green, not wilted or yellow. Give it a good wash under cold running water, paying attention to the base where dirt can hide. Trim off the very bottom root end and the tops if they look dried out. Now you’re ready to unlock its potential.
Cooking Celery: Unlocking Deeper Flavours
While raw celery offers that signature crunch, cooking mellows its flavour, brings out a subtle sweetness, and softens its texture in delightful ways. Don’t underestimate its power in cooked applications.
Soups, Stews, and Stocks: The Foundation
Celery is a cornerstone of classic flavour bases for a reason. It forms one-third of the traditional mirepoix (along with onion and carrot), providing an essential aromatic foundation for countless soups, stews, and sauces. Finely diced celery melts into the background, lending depth without overpowering. Think beyond just mirepoix, though. Cream of celery soup, when made well, is velvety and comforting. Chunky pieces add satisfying texture to chicken noodle soup, beef stew, or a hearty vegetable minestrone. Don’t forget to toss the trimmings and leaves (if clean and fresh) into your stock pot when making homemade broth – they contribute valuable flavour.
Stir-Frying: Quick, Crisp, and Flavourful
Want to maintain some of that crunch but introduce a different flavour profile? Stir-frying is your friend. Slicing celery thinly on the diagonal increases the surface area for quick cooking and looks great. It pairs wonderfully with chicken, shrimp, tofu, cashews, water chestnuts, and bell peppers. Because it cooks quickly, it retains much of its crispness. Add it towards the end of your stir-fry cooking time. Its subtle flavour absorbs sauces beautifully, whether it’s a simple soy-ginger-garlic combination or a more complex sweet and sour glaze.
Roasting: Concentrated Sweetness
Roasting does magical things to vegetables, and celery is no exception. High heat caramelizes its natural sugars, concentrating the flavour and transforming its texture into something tender yet robust. Cut celery stalks into larger pieces (about 1-2 inches), toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and perhaps some garlic powder or dried herbs like thyme or rosemary. Spread them on a baking sheet and roast at around 400°F (200°C) until tender and slightly browned at the edges. Roasted celery makes a fantastic side dish on its own or can be added to roasted vegetable medleys.
Braising: Tender and Infused
For incredibly tender celery that’s soaked up surrounding flavours, try braising. This involves slowly cooking celery, often cut into larger chunks or even whole stalks (trimmed), partially submerged in liquid like chicken or vegetable broth, white wine, or even a light tomato sauce. You can braise it on the stovetop or in the oven. Add aromatics like garlic, herbs (bay leaf, thyme), or even a strip of lemon peel. Braised celery becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender and serves as an elegant side dish, particularly good alongside pork or chicken dishes. It absorbs the braising liquid beautifully, making each bite flavourful.
Celery is remarkably hydrating. It’s composed of about 95% water, making it a refreshing choice. This high water content contributes to its crisp texture when raw. It also means it contains fewer calories compared to many other vegetables.
Refreshing Raw Celery Ideas: Beyond the Stick
Of course, raw celery has its place. That unbeatable crunch is refreshing and satisfying. But let’s move beyond just sticks and dip.
Salads and Slaws: Texture and Zing
Thinly sliced celery is a game-changer in salads. Forget chunky, stringy bits; aim for delicate, almost shaved slices (a mandoline can be helpful, used carefully). These thin slices integrate beautifully into green salads, adding a crisp counterpoint to softer lettuces. It’s essential in classic tuna or chicken salads, providing necessary crunch. Try adding it to grain salads like quinoa or farro salads for texture, or make it the star in a simple celery salad with a light vinaigrette, perhaps some toasted nuts, and shaved parmesan. It also adds fantastic crunch to coleslaw, complementing the cabbage perfectly.
Elevated Celery Boats
The classic “ants on a log” (celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins) is a nostalgic favourite, but you can easily elevate this concept. Fill celery stalks with:
- Herbed cream cheese or goat cheese
- Hummus sprinkled with paprika or za’atar
- Pimento cheese spread
- Smoked salmon dip
- Guacamole
- Blue cheese dressing topped with chopped walnuts
Quick Pickled Celery
If you enjoy tangy flavours, try quick pickling celery. Slice stalks thinly and submerge them in a simple brine of vinegar (white or apple cider), water, a little sugar, and salt. You can add flavourings like mustard seeds, dill sprigs, peppercorns, or garlic cloves. Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours, or ideally overnight. Pickled celery is fantastic as a snack, added to sandwiches for a zesty crunch, or served alongside rich dishes to cut through the fat.
Don’t Toss the Leaves!
Those leafy tops often get discarded, but they are perfectly edible and packed with flavour – often more intensely flavoured than the stalks themselves! Treat them like an herb. Finely chop the tender inner leaves and sprinkle them over salads, soups, or finished dishes as a garnish. Blend them into pestos or green sauces for an interesting twist. Add whole leaves to stocks and broths. They bring a fresh, slightly peppery celery essence that shouldn’t go to waste.
A Healthy Crunch
Without making specific health claims, it’s clear celery fits well into a balanced way of eating. Its high water content makes it hydrating, and it provides dietary fibre. It’s naturally low in calories, making it a great choice for adding bulk and crunch to meals and snacks without significantly increasing the calorie count. It offers a satisfying crispness that can be appealing when you’re looking for a healthier alternative to processed snacks.
So, the next time you see that bunch of celery in the grocery store, don’t just walk past or resign it to the fate of the crudité platter. See it as a versatile vegetable ready to add texture, freshness, and subtle savoury notes to your cooking. From slow-braised tenderness to quick-pickled tang and refreshing salad crunch, celery offers a world of possibilities. Give these methods a try and rediscover this surprisingly adaptable ingredient.
