Celery Uses

Maybe you are thinking "enough with the celery already". For the first couple of weeks, I figured everyone would be effectively using their celery with no problem, but now that we are still receiving it and will be for a couple more weeks (hopefully), I thought I should take a few minutes and talk about it.

I think it is one of the most under used and under appreciated veggies. People only think of it as being used raw in crudite platters, or added to salads or stuffed with peanut butter. And, even worse, the beautiful leaves from farm celery find their way to the compost pile.

For the celery, try the Celery and Mushroom Salad - a surprisingly delicious salad! Or, the Braised Celery, which can also incorporate cabbage and/or fennel. Again, truly delicious.

Celery leaves are known primarily as a throwaway top to an already underappreciated vegetable and are so often discarded. It’s a real shame. Celery leaves are actually a bonus to their stalks and completely virtuous on their own. Celery leaves are delicious, nutritious, and packed with intense celery flavor. Prep them like you would any herb: minced, coarsely chopped, or left in their true, whole-leaf form. Toss the tender leaves with salad greens and vinaigrette. Throw them into stir-fries, stocks, soups, and sauces. And...they make delicious pesto - just use your favorite pesto recipe using celery leaves instead of basil, parsley, kale, etc.

Store your celery in a plastic bag in the fridge and it should stay crisp for a week or two.

Farmer Derek also recommends adding celery plus leaves to a breakfast smoothie!