It takes just one ounce of celery seeds to produce an acre of celery. Some contend that it contains “negative calories,” meaning that one spends more calories digesting it than are consumed when it eating it.
How to Use
Celery can be eaten raw or cooked. It can be included in a variety of salads including Waldorf salad where it is combined with chopped, unpeeled red-skinned apples and walnuts and dressed with mayonnaise. Serve pieces of celery with sliced peppers and carrot and cucumber chunks as crudité for savoury dips. Serve the best inner stalks to accompany a cheeseboard, with bread or biscuits and a small dish of sea salt for dipping. Celery can be sautéed or served au gratin as a vegetable side dish. It adds flavour and texture to soups, stocks, casseroles and risottos.
How to Prepare
Remove any damaged or bruised outer stalks (these can be used for stock or soup) and trim off the leaves. Separate the stalks, trim off the ends and pull off any strings. Scrub well and rinse under cold running water to remove any traces of soil or grit. Slice into even-sized pieces for cooking and bite-sized pieces for salads.
How to Cook
Celery can be pan-fried or served au gratin. To pan-fry celery, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped celery and season well, cook stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes or until it is tender but crisp. To cook celery au gratin, preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5. Fry the celery as above, transfer to an ovenproof dish and cover with cheese sauce, top with grated Cheddar cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.