Crunchy Celery and Hetty McKinnon’s Tenderheart
My mother would eat celery when I was a kid because — and only because — it was diet food. “You can eat as much as you like,” she said. Problem was, she didn’t like it. She made it seem like punishment. Poor Mom. Poor celery. It’s true, celery is low in calories, but it’s high in so much goodness. I love celery for itself, and so does Hetty Lui McKinnon. We’re always happy to get you to see — and taste —vegetables you’ve shrugged off as ho-hum in a dazzling new way.
McKinnon and I share a passion for produce and the belief that food is more than what you eat. It’s culture, it’s community, it’s connection. McKinnon spices her new cookbook Tenderheart with a bittersweet backstory about her father, Wai Keung Lui. Born in China, he emigrated to Australia, where he ran a wholesale fruit and vegetable business, and got used to folks calling him Ken. He is, writes McKinnon, the source of ”the significance of vegetables in my life.” He died when she was 15.
McKinnon brings her multicultural background to her recipes. And she brings her A game to celery. “It’s a vegetable that doesn’t get the love it deserves,” she writes, “and that makes me feel defensive.” We can go into raptures just munching on a fresh stalk of celery, but McKinnon also has this awesome celery-forward dish I’m honored to share. Marinating the celery gives it some softness and builds flavor. Tossed with spiced couscous, it’s part of an ensemble cast in a multilayered main course salad.
Marinated Celery with Couscous and Pickled Golden Raisins
This salad will please crowds and surprise celery dissenters. Marinating the celery tames the strong grassy notes, bringing out a savory side and offering a tender and crisp bite. The pickled golden raisins are tart and fruity, bringing high and low acidic moments, delivering plump pops of tang with every mouthful. While feta is optional, it does bring a sharp saltiness that works beautifully with the other ingredients.
SERVES 4
4 celery stalks (about 8 oz/225 g), finely sliced (reserve any tender leaves)
1 garlic clove, grated
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds or ½ teaspoon ground cumin
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable stock or water
1 cup (190 g) couscous
3 ½ ounces (100 g) feta, crumbled (optional)
handful of soft herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, chives), torn
¼ cup roasted almonds, chopped
Pickled golden raisins:
½ cup (70 g) golden raisins
¼ cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
¼ red onion or 1 shallot, sliced
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon sugar
In a small bowl, combine the celery, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, apple cider vinegar, sugar and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with 1 teaspoon of sea salt and a few turns of black pepper. Toss to combine and leave to marinate for 30–60 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.
To make the pickled golden raisins, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Toss to combine and set aside to pickle for 30 minutes.
Place the vegetable stock or water, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ½ teaspoon of sea salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and add the couscous to the pan. Stir, then cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and set aside.
In a large serving bowl, place the couscous, marinated celery and all the pickling liquid, the pickled golden raisins (drain off the raisin pickling liquid but keep it in case the salad needs more acidity), feta (if using) and herbs and toss to combine. Drizzle with 2–3 tablespoons of olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper and toss again. Taste and, if it needs more acid, add 1–2 tablespoons of the raisin pickling liquid. Top with the almonds and serve at room temperature.
Gluten-free • replace the couscous with quinoa
Vegan Substitute • couscous: quinoa, farro, pearl couscous • feta: shaved pecorino • golden raisins: sultanas, dried cranberries
Vegetable swap • celery: fennel, cauliflower
From Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds. © 2023 by Hetty Lui McKinnon. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Looking for a printable version of this recipe? Grab it here.
So I gotta ask — when’s the last time you gave your celery some love? It’s probably been sitting in your fridge all along, waiting, hoping. For such a quiet, unassuming vegetable, celery has a lot going on. Let’s start with looks. Celery is a long-stemmed bouquet of beauty. Its pale celadon shade is cooling and inviting to the eye, its slender stalks define intelligent design.
Celery is pale green in color and in flavor. It’s mildly grassy and astringent, but not at all pushy. At least not to us humans. Its botanical name. Apium graveolens means “strong smelling bee favorite.”
We may not be sensitive to celery’s scent, but we know it has a place in the mouthfeel hall of fame. Raw chopped celery is made for summer. It’s both hydrating and crunchy. Braised, it becomes soft, almost melty. It’s both vegetable and aromatic, an essential ingredient in classic French mirepoix and the Creole holy trinity.
Secrets of Celery
Celery is a member of the umbelliferae family, along with carrots and celery, two other culinary hard workers that don’t get their due. But they do get that pretty name — umbelliferae — which they earn with their umbrella-like canopies of wispy, small blooms.
Here’s another strange term — collenchyma. You may not have known its name, but if you’ve suffered with stringy celery, you know exactly what I mean. Collenchyma are the moisture-filled fibrous cells giving celery its structure. Good to know, but if you want to get rid of them, here’s an easy tip — take a Y-shaped vegetable parer. Start at the thick end of the celery stalk where the strings and strands tend to poke out, then peel them away.
Celery has endurance, lasting in the fridge for weeks. Does your celery seem limp? Give it an ice water bath. It’ll perk right up.
Have you used your celery down to the bottom? Grow more celery. Slice the pale, hard celery base horizontally and place it in a shallow bowl of water in a sunny spot. Within days, sometimes hours, it’ll sprout bright green ruffles of new leaves. Transfer to a pot or directly into your garden, covering the base with dirt but leaving the new growth exposed. Stalks may be scrawny but bushy with feathery leaves and will taste of the very essence of celery. Free food!
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More celery recipes to love:
Like McKinnon, I like to combine the crunch of celery with whole grains
Celery goes French when paired up with lentils in French lentil salad
It takes on a Caribbean accent in Caribbean red beans and rice
Celery’s crunch and green flavor meets chewy sweet dates in my simple but pretty spectacular Medjool date and celery salad
Bryant Terry slaws his celery for an all green spring slaw that’s super refreshing for summer, too
Want more for free? Join my July 6 free virtual cooking class, Cheap Eats for Tough Times for more nutrient-dense, plantbased and budget-stretching recipes. Space is limited. Register here.
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