All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Thursday, December 9, 2010

butter-braised celery/celeris braises au beurre







If you have never tried butter-braised celery to accompany so many warm winter dishes, from roasted chicken with tarragon sauce, to a simple mushroom omelet, poached sausages or salmon, or even the warm pasta dish, you're in for a treat. This ordinary vegetable reaches new highs with this meltingly soft and tender treatment of blanching and braising with herbs: here, I've used tarragon, but you can subsitute with fresh rosemary, if you're one of those people who loathe tarragon. Please allow a little over half an hour of your time - trust me, it's worth it!
For each two cups of sliced celery to serve two:

Wash and slice the celery diagonally into 2 inch slices. Bring a pot of water to a boil , then blanch the celery for five minutes. Drain and place the celery in a heavy bottomed saucepan, adding for each 2 cups celery:

2 T. unsalted butter
a pinch of kosher salt
1/2 t. dried tarragon
(or 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary if you prefer)
a little freshly ground pepper
3 T. chicken or beef stock, or dry vermouth

Turn heat to the lowest degree ( I have an electric stove, so the setting was 1) and braise for 25-35 minutes, covered, checking the celery every once in a while to make sure it's braising, and not burning.


Turn braised celery out into a warmed serving dish and enjoy!

4 comments:

Sean Grey Hanson said...

Oh.sounds like a vegetarian diet.

katrina said...

Not if you match it with perfectly roasted chicken or pork tenderloin:)

Sonia R. Martinez said...

Kat, I have Mexican tarragon growing in the yard...also rosemary, so will try with both! Thanks...sounds wonderful!

katrina said...

I'm not sure I know what the difference is, Sonia, but always use the traditional (French) one.