Years ago, I discovered the difference between the standard-issue 20th-century celery I’d long grown accustomed to from supermarkets and commercial produce suppliers, and the remarkably delicious celery that, back then, was just starting to show up from local organic farms. The difference was extreme—akin to Kraft Singles versus English farmhouse cheddar, or grocery store grits versus those we get from Anson Mills. Nowadays when celery comes into season, I try to make the most of it!
With Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter on my mind pretty constantly these days (their sea-salted butter won first place in the butter category at the American Cheese Society’s competition last month!), it occurred to me to follow the lead of food writer Molly Stevens, my longtime very good friend, who includes a braised celery recipe in her award-winning book All About Braising. The dish does need more time to prepare than the typical 10 to 12 minutes most recipes I write about here tend to take, but really it’s not all that much work. This is my shorter version of Molly’s great recipe, and when all is said and done, it’s pretty easy to make—and a rich, exceptional dish to have for dinner.
Start by buying a good-sized head of local celery – emphasis on local! Cut off the base at the bottom, trim off the leaves, and set aside. Wash the whole thing well in cold water.
When you’re ready to cook, cut the celery into half-inch-or-so slices. (You can also do what Molly does, which is to leave the stalks whole, but this does require, as she calls for, taking time to remove the strings from them. I opt for less visual impact and quicker prep time.)
Put a tablespoon of Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter in a saucepan. I use their sea-salted butter, which means I don’t really need to add salt the rest of the way, as I normally would. Add the celery leaves, chopped into fairly small pieces, and a minced shallot or a few garlic cloves. Set aside when the celery is tender and the shallot is only just beginning to brown a bit. Add some stock—about a cup to a cup and a half. The Deli’s homemade chicken broth is terrific, or vegetable stock works really well if you want to keep the dish vegetarian. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for five minutes or so.
Meanwhile, melt a couple more generous tablespoons of butter. When the butter is hot and starting to bubble, add the celery pieces. Cook over medium heat. Add some fresh tarragon leaves if you can find the herb in its fresh state. (If you can’t come up with any tarragon, chopped flat-leaf parsley and/or fresh thyme should work as well.) Stir now and again, until the celery is tender.
Pour the broth mixture over the celery. Cover the pan and cook for about an hour, or until the celery is very tender and the liquid is pretty much all absorbed.
If you want to go one step further, you can cover the top of the celery with toasted breadcrumbs. I love the breadcrumbs made from the Bakehouse’s Roadhouse Bread—the mix of corn, wheat, and rye gives them a bigger flavor, and the molasses in the bread has a bit of sweetness. When you’re ready for the breadcrumbs, just grate them over the top of the dish to the level of density you’d like. If your pan has a handle that won’t melt, pop it into a 350-degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the butter-broth mixture is bubbling and a bit more effectively integrated into the now tender pieces of celery. If the pan won’t work in the oven, simply pour the entire mix into a baking dish, then top with breadcrumbs and bake that way. Molly uses some grated Swiss mountain cheese in her topping, but I decided to opt out and let the excellence of the Vermont Creamery Cultured Butter be the main flavor accompanying the sharpness of the celery.
You can serve this butter-braised celery as a side dish or as a vegetable main! It’s fun next to a couple of over-easy eggs for brunch as well.
