The CookingBites recipe challenge: celery, celeriac, celery salt & celery seeds

TastyReuben said:
I wish I could get leaves like that! They’re always cut off and discarded on the supermarket celery.
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I just find there are way too many of them and I'm at all loss as to how to use so many of them. There are only so many I can eat raw. Even my chooks won't touch them, so sadly unless I'm making a soup that gets pureed, I don't tend to use them.

That head of celery was AUD $2 which is roughly £1 or USD $1.30.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I just find there are way too many of them and I'm at all loss as to how to use so many of them. There are only so many I can eat raw. Even my chooks won't touch them, so sadly unless I'm making a soup that gets pureed, I don't tend to use them.

That head of celery was AUD $2 which is roughly £1 or USD $1.30.
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Here’s what they do to our celery:

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Monsters!

That celery was $2.49US, more expensive because it’s organic. I bought the organic because it had more leaves than the standard celery at $1.89.
 
My fourth entry:

Recipe - Consommé of Celery

I always wanted to make a consommé, but always thought it looked too fussy, with all the skimming and clarifying and all that. Imagine my delight when I was thumbing through my cookbooks and found a much simpler method - basically, four ingredients, simmer it for a bit, strain it through some cheesecloth...done!

Consommé of Celery

Consommé of Celery


This certainly smacks strongly of celery, but what also comes through is that little bit of cognac - please don't leave it out, even if it is listed as optional. It's a small amount, but it's what really sends the taste of this soup to the top.
 
My fifth entry:

Retro Recipe - Celery Polynesian

Celery Polynesian

Celery Polynesian


When you see something with a name like “Celery Polynesian,” and it’s from my Betty Crocker cookbook, you know you’re in for a dish straight out of suburban America, circa 1956.

This is really easy, just a few ingredients, and I guess it’s the water chestnuts that make it Polynesian? I’m sure that sounded wonderfully exotic to newly-married Doris Wilson, Springtown USA, making dinner to impress her husband’s boss down at the insurance company.

In reality, I don’t think it really comes together to become more than its individual pieces. It doesn’t meld together into a dish, it just tastes like a bowl of chicken soup-flavored celery and water chestnuts…because that’s pretty much all it is.

It doesn’t taste bad, it’s just that there isn’t much going on. It hints at something developed in some corporate test kitchen…oh, wait - that’s what it is.

The picture above includes some SPAM, because I didn’t know what to serve alongside this, so I thought I’d make it easy on myself and throw some SPAM in there. It didn’t help pull things together much.

If, after that rousing thumbs up, you do decide to make this, please pay attention to the salt notes in the recipe. With dry bouillon, celery salt, and table salt, this was nearly too salty, even after eliminating the table salt.
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
I just find there are way too many of them and I'm at all loss as to how to use so many of them. There are only so many I can eat raw. Even my chooks won't touch them, so sadly unless I'm making a soup that gets pureed, I don't tend to use them.

That head of celery was AUD $2 which is roughly £1 or USD $1.30.
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Pesto?
 
My final entry, another bevvie:

Recipe - Celery Punch (Sellerie Bowle)

I must say, of the ones I've submitted, this is my favorite one. It's bright, it's refreshing, it's pretty, and it just makes you want to go sit on the back deck and wave to your neighbors. If you're more sociable than I am, you may even wish to invite them over to share in it (but do so at your own risk; you've been warned!).

Flavors...I used a bottle of Savoie Abymes (my usual fondue wine), which worked out nicely, a perfect spring/summer freshness. Orange is, of course, at the front, but the celery is definitely there, doing what celery is famed for; underpinning the main characters and letting them shine, unselfishly holding the whole thing together and making it all work.

Celery Punch (Sellerie Bowle)

Celery Punch (Sellerie Bowle)


Here’s a simply lovely video of this punch, made with celery root/celeriac as a different approach (it’s in German, but don’t let that stop you, I found it utterly charming, for some reason):

View: https://youtu.be/K34lgaJcgm0
 
My second entry.

Recipe - Celeriac, Carrot & Fennel Bake with a Ginger & Tamarind Dressing

Getting ready

Getting ready


Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Straight out of the oven

Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Served with sourdough and home-made vegan feta...

It looks messy, but tastes great. I reckon most of the veg could easily be swapped out if needed provided you kept with the concept (veg, onion & 1 fruit that will cook down to add to the dressing), but also dates or apricots would also work. It really does need the saltiness of the feta, so that's a must. There's sweet, sour and salty all going on at once. Mushy, smooth, firm, crisp and munchy also all going on. Possibly the first hot "salad" I've made and enjoyed.
 
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SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
My second entry.

Recipe - Celeriac, Carrot & Fennel Bake with a Ginger & Tamarind Dressing

Getting ready

Getting ready


Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Straight out of the oven

Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Celeriac, Fennel and Carrot Roast with a Ginger, Tamarind and Orange Dressing

Served with sourdough and home-made vegan feta...

It looks messy, but tastes great. I reckon most of the veg could easily be swapped out if needed provided you kept with the concept (veg, onion & 1 fruit that will cook down to add to the dressing), but also dates or apricots would also work. It really does need the saltiness of the feta, so that's a must. There's sweet, sour and salty all going on at once. Mushy, smooth, firm, crisp and munchy also all going on. Possibly the first hot "salad" I've made and enjoyed.
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I can imagine the fennel and the celeriac really taste great together.
 
Morning Glory said:
Pesto?
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I don't think I waste any greens, ever: everything gets turned into a pesto if I can't find another use. I bought radishes to make kimchi, and turned the greens into a somewhat bitter (but still tasty) pesto. I'd think blending it with another assertive flavor, like celery greens, would yield excellent results.
 
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