What's left is always right

Palo Alto weather has been kind of whacky of late, cold, rainy, and then a glorious day with sunshine and warmth, much like the one we had when the city's power went out (God is fair). I suppose it's "normal" for February, but I'm longing for spring already, even though I still have one more snowboarding trip to get in before the season completely changes.

The sun came out for a little bit yesterday, but just when I thought we'd get another nice day of sunshine, it started raining and got cold, making me long for something to warm me up from the inside. I also love making use of what's left in the fridge, and found two half bunches of celery, one from weeks (literally) ago when I used it for Mirepoix and another from Chinese New Year, when stir fried some fresh celery slices.

I'm not quite sure what came over me or where I'd even conjured up the idea, but braising the celery into a warm veggie stew just sounded like such a great idea. Plus, it gave me the option of folding laundry for an hour or two without having to tend to the stovetop.

To start, I used a combination of butter and olive oil, and sauteed some shallots (pantry staple) until they were nice and translucent. Then, not wanting to waste the tops and leaves of the celery stalks, and I chopped them up and threw them in the pan to bring the flavor out. Alcohol is a necessity whenever a stew is in the making, and it was a toss up between sake and vermouth, and since it was a "western" style stew, I opted for the vermouth instead. The vermouth glazed down into a really nice finish, and I added some chicken stock for a really nice broth, and poured it over the portioned celery stalks in my famous red Le Creuset pot.

Two hours later when I came back, the celery had really cooked down so that it was tender, and while raw celery is kind of neutral in taste, cooking it up really brings out it's unique flavor. Plus, it had time to slowly absorb the complexity of the broth, making it extra mouthwatering. I olive-oiled a couple slices of bread and toasted them in the oven for that crouton-ey crunch, and it was absolutely the perfect pairing to dip the bread into all that delicious soup.

It was so delicious I didn't even stop to take pictures!

I thought about it afterwards, and the idea of serving it up like a french onion soup came up - with a crouton on the top of the soup, and smothered in Gruyere cheese that's bubbling under the broiler. It sounds absolutely fantastic in my mind, and I think it will be back on the dinner menu very very soon; Preferably before spring is here.

Braised Celery Soup

1 head Celery, stalks sliced into 2-3 batons, tops and leaves roughly chopped
1 ea Shallot, sliced
1 cup Vermouth
2 cup Chicken Broth
1 oz Butter
2 tbs Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Preheat the oven to 320F
2. Heat the butter and olive oil in a saute pan
3. Add the shallots and saute until translucent and lightly browned
4. Add the celery tops and leaves and saute further until fragrant
5. Add the vermouth and cook down until a glaze
6. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil
7. Season the broth with salt and pepper to taste
8. Layer the celery in an oven proof pot, and pour the broth over, adding a little more water if necessary to cover all the celery
9. Cover the pot and braise for about 1.5 - 2 hrs, depending on how tender you like your celery

Serve with crunchy bread (Well oiled, and baked at 400F for about 10 minutes, until browned)

For a "frenched" style soup, slice the celery stalks on the bias before braising. Top with the crunchy bread and smother with grated Gruyere cheese. Broil uncovered until cheese browns and is bubbling.