Spicy Cold Braised Celery Food

BRAISED CELERY

Steps:

• Peel any of the fibrous outer stalks of celery with a vegetable peeler and slice into 1-inch pieces on the bias.
• Heat the butter in a 10-inch saute pan over medium heat. Once melted, add the celery, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes until just beginning to soften slightly. Add the beef broth and stir to combine. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the celery is tender but not mushy, approximately 5 minutes. Uncover and allow the celery to continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes or until the liquid has been reduced to a glaze. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the reserved leaves.

SPICED PORK WITH CELERY ROOT PURéE AND LENTILS

Steps:

• For celery root puree:
• Bring celery root and milk to boil in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until celery root is very tender, about 20 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer celery root to processor. Add 1/2 cup hot milk. Puree until very smooth. Blend in butter and lemon juice. Season with salt and white pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• For lentils:
• Sauté bacon in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp, about 3 minutes. Add carrots, shallots, and rosemary; sauté until shallots begin to soften, about 1 minute. Add lentils and 3 cups water; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered until lentils are tender and liquid has nearly evaporated, about 35 minutes. Stir in butter. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
• For pork:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk first 4 ingredients in bowl. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add pork; sauté until brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Brush pork with honey mixture. Transfer skillet to oven; roast pork 10 minutes. Turn pork over and brush with honey mixture. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of pork registers 145°F, about 10 minutes longer. Transfer pork to work surface; tent with foil (temperature will increase 5 degrees).
• Add broth and remaining honey mixture to same skillet. Boil over high heat until sauce is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Strain sauce into small bowl. Return sauce to skillet. Whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper.
• Rewarm celery root puree and lentils. Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place 1/2 cup celery root puree in center of each of 6 plates. Using back of spoon, make indentation in puree. Spoon 1/2 cup lentils into indentation on each plate. Arrange pork slices atop lentils and drizzle with sauce.

CELERY STRATA

Steps:

• Whisk together the milk, eggs and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir in the thyme and sage. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, pepper and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and stir in the braised celery.
• Grease a 9-by-12-by-2 1/2-inch pan with 1 teaspoon of butter. Place 6 slices of bread in the bottom and top with 1/2 of the ricotta-Parmesan mixture. Repeat, then finish with a layer of bread spread with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Pour the egg mixture over the top, gently pressing down so it soaks through the bread. Wrap the pan in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic from the pan and sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Put this pan into a large roasting pan on the middle rack in the oven. Pour boiling water into the larger pan to reach halfway up the sides and bake for 50 minutes.
• Remove the smaller pan from the water bath, increase the heat to 400 degrees and bake for 10 minutes, or until the strata is puffy and brown. Let cool and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CELERY ROOT AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, starting skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet.
• Add butter to skillet and heat over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté celery root and garlic, stirring frequently, until celery root is browned, about 5 minutes.
• Add broth and thyme and deglaze skillet by boiling, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, 1 minute. Return chicken, skin sides up, to skillet along with any juices accumulated on plate, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes for white meat, about 25 minutes for dark meat. Transfer chicken to a serving bowl as cooked and keep warm, loosely covered with foil.
• When all chicken pieces are done cooking, transfer sauce and vegetables to bowl with chicken, discarding thyme.

SPICY CELERY WITH GARLIC

Steps:

• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the tough, fibrous strings from the celery ribs. Cut the celery into 2-inch pieces. You should have about 8 cups.
• Place the celery pieces in a large bowl, cover with cold water and wash them thoroughly.
• Place the celery, still wet, in a large saucepan with the remainder of the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, uncovered; then, reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for about 25 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated and the celery is tender.
• Serve immediately, or if you want to serve the dish later, cool, cover, refrigerate and reheat briefly in a microwave oven or in a saucepan on top of the stove.

BRAISED CELERY

Steps:

• Arrange the celery in a single layer on the bottom of a large skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with butter. Dissolve the bouillon cube in boiling water, and pour over the celery.
• Cover pan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

SPICY COLD BRAISED CELERY

Steps:

• Boil the celery in lightly salted water for 1 minute. Drain, cool under cold running water and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet and saute the scallions for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the broth, coriander seeds, celery seeds and chili-pepper flakes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the celery and lemon juice. Cover, reduce heat to very low and simmer until the celery is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. If more than 1 cup of broth remains, remove the celery and continue cooking until the broth has reduced. Recombine celery and broth in a flat container, add the salt and refrigerate, covered with tinfoil, for 1 hour.
• Chop 1/2 of the cilantro leaves with the celery leaves and add to the celery. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top and serve.

BRAISED KALE

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, kale, and stock and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes; add a splash of cider vinegar in the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat. Serve immediately.
• In a large stock pot, over high heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions, carrots, and celery. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours. Remove the stock from the heat and skim off any scum that is on the surface. Strain the stock through a large fine-mesh sieve. Discard the bones and vegetables.

GUAJILLO CHILE-BRAISED RABBIT TOSTADA

Steps:

• Up to 1 day ahead, prepare rabbit as directed.
• To serve tostadas, heat 2 inches of oil in a frying pan to 360 degrees F. Fry tortillas, 1 at a time, until crispy, about 2 minutes (do not fold tortilla). Drain on paper towels and set aside.
• In a saucepan, heat the rabbit in the reserved braising juices. Put a fried tortilla on each plate and top with a ladleful of black beans. Place the rabbit on top of the beans. In a bowl, lightly dress radishes, cabbage, and cilantro leaves with vinaigrette. Place a small mound of slaw on each tostada; top with salsa. Sprinkle with feta and pumpkinseeds and serve.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Pull stems off of the chiles, leaving seeds inside. Place chiles in pie plate in a hot oven for 1 to 2 minutes until they smell fragrant to bring out flavor. Place in a bowl and add just enough hot water to cover. Soak for 1 hour. In a blender, puree chiles, oregano, garlic, cumin, and remaining salt and pepper. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and set aside.
• In a wide frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Season rabbit pieces with salt and pepper and saute until golden brown on each side, about 7 minutes. Remove and reserve rabbit. Add celery, carrot, and onion to pan and saute until just browned. Add the chile puree and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes to bring out the flavor. Add rabbit pieces to the pan and add just enough stock to cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until the meat is very tender. Let cool, then strain and reserve both sauce and meat. Pull meat from the bones being very careful not to miss any; discard skin and bones. Chill meat and sauce separately.
• In a large pot, bring black beans to boil in water to cover by 2 inches. Add half the onion, the celery and the bay leaf. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Strain and reserve liquid.
• In same pot, heat olive oil and add bell pepper, remaining onion, garlic, green onions, basil, cilantro, soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin, cardamom, salt, and pepper. When vegetables are tender, add the beans and the reserved cooking liquid and simmer until reduced by half. Beans can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. To use, ladle out amount desired and heat until warmed through.
• Combine vinegar, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well. Whisk in the oil until emulsified. Set aside until ready to use.
• Combine all ingredients and mix well, but gently. Do not mash avocados. Use immediately.

SPICY COLD CELERY

Steps:

• Cut the celery into 2-inch lengths. Mix with the salt and sugar and set aside for 10 minutes while you whisk together the remaining ingredients.
• Rinse, drain, and pat dry the celery, then toss with the dressing. Let stand in the refrigerator for at least three hours, and up to a day.
• Serve chilled.

BAKED CELERY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
• Separate celery into stalks, remove leaves (save for soup) and trim, wash well and cut into pieces about 3/4-inch thick.
• Place celery in an ungreased casserole dish.
• Dice bacon; add bacon and sliced onion to casserole, atop the celery.
• Sprinkle all with fresh parsley.
• Combine stock and water (or just use all stock) and pour over dish; don't stir.
• Dot casserole with small bits of butter.
• Cover dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until celery is cooked but not mushy.