Stalks With High Dividends: Luxurious Celery Recipes

Back then, celery was served every which way from raw to stewed to fried. Hirtzler’s preparation awakened diners’ palates with anchovy and tangy vinegar. To prime the appetite for big hunks of beef at Alfred’s Steakhouse, Mr. Patterson lays on even more flavor, boosting the amount of mustard and showering on freshly grated sharp cheese.

This dish features in the chef’s latest cookbook, “The Art of Flavor”—a badge of honor for a vegetable he claims to not even like. “The recipe was meant to show that you can use umami to create deliciousness,” he writes, “even with ingredients that are not that exciting.”

Not that exciting?

Trey Bell

begs to differ. The former chef-owner of LaRue Elm in Greensboro, N.C., dubs celery a “flavor amplifier.” He uses it to improve upon a classic vichyssoise, served warm or chilled.

“With potatoes and leeks, the soup’s a little tired,” said Mr. Bell, so he swapped out the standards and whipped up a green, creamy soup using all the parts of the celery plant. Boiled celeriac, the root of a variety of celery grown expressly for its underground assets, provides a starchy base. Raw stalks and leaves add bittersweet bite. Celery seed imparts what Mr. Bell calls “nostalgic flavor.”

“It has always been in my cupboard,” said the chef, who learned his leaves-to-roots way with vegetables from his grandmother. She grew celery in her South Carolina garden, stirring it into the boil for her chicken and mixing its grassy-tasting seeds into her coleslaw.

At Henrietta Red in Nashville, chef Julia Sullivan focuses on celery’s tender inner stalks, searing and then slow cooking them. Into the braise go bacon, wine, chicken stock, garlic and shallots. The dish is finished with a butter glaze. “Cooking it like this mellows it out and brings a richness to it,” said Ms. Sullivan—so much so that the dish can stand on its own as the centerpiece of a meal.

Of course, butter, bacon and cream annul the benefit the health-obsessed like to tout: that each celery stalk contains a mere six calories. Let them have their crudités. It’s worth letting this versatile ingredient shine in full-flavored, indulgent, fully winterized dishes once in a while.

Celery Vichyssoise

Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 2 hours Serves: 4

• 1 celeriac (about 2 pounds), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon salt, plus more for serving
• 1 tablespoon celery seed
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 8 stalks raw celery, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped
• Olive oil, for drizzling

1. In a large pot, combine celeriac, wine, salt, celery seed, thyme and garlic. Simmer over medium-low heat until celeriac is tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Transfer half the celeriac and cooking liquid to a blender. Add 2 cups half-and-half, half the celery stalks and half the parsley. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with remaining celeriac, cooking liquid, half-and-half, celery stalks and parsley.

3. Strain soup through a mesh strainer and serve warm. Or, if you like, refrigerate 1 hour and serve chilled. To serve, garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt.

—Adapted from Trey Bell

Braised Celery with Bacon and Lemon

Active Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 1¼ hours Serves: 6-8

• 8 ounces applewood-smoked bacon, diced
• 2 tablespoons shallots, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 bunches celery, tender inner stalks and leaves only, quartered
• Salt
• 1 cup dry white wine, plus more as needed
• 1 cup chicken stock, plus more as needed
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cold and cubed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley, for garnish
• ½ teaspoon sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, cook bacon until fat renders and bacon browns, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon and set aside. Add shallots and garlic. Continue to cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Remove shallots and garlic and set aside.

2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and reduce heat to medium-low. Add a quarter of the celery, spaced ½-inch apart, and cook, turning halfway through, until golden brown all over, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Remove celery and set aside. Repeat with remaining celery.

3 Drain fat and return celery to Dutch oven, arranged snugly in a single layer. Add wine and stock to cover. Add reserved bacon, shallots and garlic. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Transfer to oven and braise, covered, until tender, about 40 minutes.

4. Set Dutch oven over medium heat. Add butter and lemon juice. Return to a simmer and baste to glaze. Add sugar and season with salt. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.

—Adapted from Julia Sullivan of Henrietta Red in Nashville, Tenn.

Poached Celery with Mustard Dressing and Parmesan

Active Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Serves: 4

• Salt
• 1 bunch celery, stalks trimmed and peeled
• 4 tablespoons neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 6 anchovy fillets, minced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup freshly grated Permesan

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and reduce heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Add celery and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and refrigerate 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk together oil, mustard, vinegar and anchovies. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Transfer celery to a serving platter. Top with dressing and Parmesan.

—Adapted from Daniel Patterson of Alfred’s Steakhouse, San Francisco