Serves8 (side dish)
- Active time:25 min
- Start to finish:45 min
April 2009
Honey provides the sweet, and lemon juice the sour, in the Passover dish known as apio
, which has origins in Turkey (the Ottoman Empire became a haven for Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition in 1492). As the celery cooks, it soaks up the braising liquid and becomes silky. View more of our favorite recipes from this issue.
-
3/4
cup
water
-
1/4
cup
fresh lemon juice
-
3
tablespoons
olive oil
-
3
tablespoons
mild honey
-
4
lb
celery (2 to 3 bunches; any dark green outer ribs peeled), cut into 2-inch pieces, reserving about 1 cup inner celery leaves
-
1/4
cup
finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
-
Cut a round of parchment paper to fit just inside a wide heavy 6- to 8-qt pot, then set round aside.
-
Simmer water, lemon juice, oil, honey, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in pot, stirring, until honey has dissolved. Stir in celery (but not leaves) and cover with parchment round. Simmer until tender and liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup, 35 to 40 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, coarsely chop reserved leaves.
-
Serve celery sprinkled with celery leaves and parsley.
Cooks’ note: Celery can be braised 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat over low heat, adding more water if necessary, or reheat in a microwave. Add celery leaves and parsley before serving.
