Another food that is more versatile than we often realize is celery. It is so good eaten raw, so easy to chop and mix with other salad ingredients, that we are apt to overlook other ways of serving it. But I find a great many guests are as fond as I am of braised celery and creamed celery, two dishes that are always enjoyed by those who are familiar with French cooking. Another way of serving celery and one much liked by Americans is stuffed for an hors-d'oeuvre. But before doing anything at all with celery, it must be carefully cleaned. And in my travels here, there, and everywhere, how much celery have I seen that hasn't been well cleaned! It's well to remember that the whiter the stalk, the more attention it must be given, because vegetables like celery are blanched by piling the earth high around them. Then the wind and rains drive the soil into every crevice. And what is worse than biting into a piece of celery and finding it gritty?
When serving celery raw, some of the outside stalks are removed but those that are left around the heart should be scraped with a knife to remove the stringy fibers. Split the head lengthwise into halves or quarters—depending on its size—and let running water from the faucet flush through until every possible bit of sand is removed.
In preparing braised celery, the head is cooked whole, so the celery must be cleaned without breaking it apart. Remove the top leaves and two or three of the coarsest outside stalks. Parboil the heads for five minutes in water and plunge them into cold water. Now, holding each head under the running water, carefully spread apart the stalks without breaking them from the base, until all the soil is flushed out. Because they are soft from parboiling, they won't break—a convenient trick to know.
Braised Celery
Clean 6 heads of celery thoroughly, parboil them for 5 minutes, and plunge them into cold water. Drain. Hold the celery under running water, spreading the stalks to flush out all the soil without breaking the heads. Slice 1 small carrot and small onion and spread in a casserole, laying the pieces of celery on lop. Add enough boiling while slock or water barely to cover the celery. Cover with a few thin slices of fresh pork fat or fresh beef suet and sprinkle with a little salt. Cut a piece of paper the shape of the casserole, make a small hole in the center, and place this on top. Cover the casserole. Cook in a moderately hot oven (375° to 400° F.) for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the celery is done. Remove the celery to a heated serving dish.
Remove the fat from the cooking liquid, strain, and cook until it is reduced to about 3/4 cup. Correct the seasoning and thicken with manié butter made by creaming together 1 tablespoon butter with 1 teaspoon flour. Pour this over the celery or serve with good beef or veal gravy.
Creamed Celery
Follow the recipe for braised celery, using about 1 quart of the outside stalks, cleaned and scraped to remove the stringy fibers and cut in 2-inch lengths. While the celery is baking, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, add 1 tablespoon flour, and l cook until it just starts to turn golden. When the celery is cooked, drain it well, reserving the liquid, into a serving dish. Remove the fat from the cooking liquid, strain it onto the butter and flour, and cook, stirring, until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Add 1/4 cup cream, bring to the boil, and pour the sauce over the celery.
In preparing stuffed celery for hors-d'oeuvre, choose rather simple mixtures and piquant flavors that do not overwhelm the pleasant flavor of the celery itself, such as cream cheese mixed with chopped chives and Roquefort cheese creamed with butter or cream.
Celery is also one of the important flavorings for many soups, slews, and sauces. The coarser outside stalks and the leaves can be used. In French cooking, a fagot or, as some call it, a bouquet garni, which combines several flavors to give a subtle blending of them, is put in almost all types of stews and in many sauces. Make a faggot as follows: Tuck a few sprigs of parsley in the concave side of a piece of celery stalk, sprinkle in a very little thyme, and add a piece of bay leaf. Lay another piece of celery stalk snugly against this and tie all together by winding a piece of siring securely around it. If the dish in which it is cooked contains no carrots, add a piece of carrot to the faggot. And if fresh thyme is available, substitute a sprig of it for the dry thyme.
I can hardly say, though, that the use of the faggot is a trick because it is actually a fundamental way of seasoning that is employed in all good French cooking. One of the advantages of using a faggot instead of dropping the separate seasonings in a sauce or stew is that if the flavor appears to be sufficiently strong when you taste the dish, the faggot can be easily removed; and also when a sauce, like tomato sauce, is nibbed through a sieve, the faggot can be removed and there will be no soft, dark little spots of parsley rubbed through to spoil the appearance of the finished sauce.
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