Celery! Now that I’ve Got Your Attention: CELERY!

Celery is Khloe Kardashian of vegetables–often ignored, an afterthought. But I think it’s time this noble stalk got its close-up.

I like celery! It adds a crunchy zip to stir-fries, subtle, savory depth to braises, and the hearts are a tender, sweet, nearly calorie-less delicacy.

One of my favorite celery dishes is an extremely simple salad I’ve been making for ages and one I’ve been craving lately: it’s nothing more than thinly-sliced celery and mushrooms, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil (a little sugar and perhaps some red pepper flakes, too, if desired!) and mixed with grated Parmesan cheese. The crunchy zip of the celery paired with the earthiness of the mushrooms and the nutty depth of the Parmesan makes for a perfect, quick, nutritious salad.

I like celery! So when I come across a recipe that makes it its star, I pay attention. That said, I’d like to share this fantastic celery-intensive Milk Street recipe with you:

Readers, this is one for the rolodex. It doesn’t have a laundry list of ingredients, packs a huge flavor punch, and takes less than 30 minutes to make, if you’re really on your game. I loved this dish. The beef was tender and flavorful, the celery was a lovely crisp-tender, and the cilantro added yet more layers of flavor to a dish already full of savory depth.

Because I know some of you are vegetarians and vegans, I often try to re-engineer recipes to make them meatless. This one is a no-brainer. Substitute the beef with browned slabs of white or cremini mushrooms. If you don’t want to use fish sauce Soy or Ponzu sauce would be acceptable substitutes.

Meaty or meat-free, you’re gonna love this.

Oh, and I love celery!