Braised Celery with White Wine, Anchovies & Tomatoes
We have struggled over the years growing celery. In fact we were so bad at growing celery that we stopped planting it years ago. However, after a long hiatus we decided to give it a go again. We’ve spent a lot of time amending our soil, improving our greenhouse systems, and revamping our irrigation. Because the farm has been producing healthier veggies over the past few years it made sense to put celery back on the schedule this season. And hot damn!! I am so glad we didn’t permanently give up on growing this amazing veggie. Our celery is delicious. It’s hands down the best tasting celery I’ve ever had and I am so happy we get to provide it to our community this year.
In celebration of not screwing up this tasty green this season I wanted to create a dish that made it the star of the show. This braised celery is awesome! In fact you may find yourself just eating it with your fingers straight out of the pan because it’s that good. We served this with some polenta and soft boiled eggs for a full meal. However, feel free to serve this alongside grilled meat, fish or pasta.
Also, if anchovies aren’t your thing, feel free to substitute with chopped bacon or pancetta. Happy celery season everyone!
Braised Celery with White Wine, Anchovies & Tomatoes
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Serves: 4 as a side
- 1 1/2 pounds celery (with leaves)
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups sliced onion
- 6 anchovies, chopped
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- salt and pepper to taste
- freshly grated parmesan for serving
Preparation
- Cut of the celery's leafy tops and roughly chop them. Set them aside (see note). Detach the stalks from the base and cut them into 3 inch long pieces.
- Heat the butter in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until lightly browned and tender. About 8 minutes. Add the chopped anchovies and cook for about 1 minutes longer. Pour in the wine and turn up the heat until the wine is simmering. Add the tomatoes, celery stalks and leaves, and a fat pinch of salt and pepper. Adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so until the celery becomes completely fork tender.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
*If your celery doesn't have fresh leafy tops, just leave the greens out.
I tried this with chard stems instead of celery, and leek instead of onion. Also used chicken broth for the liquid because I didn’t have an open bottle of white wine.
Not only was this a hit with our dinner guest, but my spouse LOVED it and wants to experiment with other braised chard stem recipes. Chard and cherry tomatoes are my most reliable garden produce and this recipe opened up a whole new world! Thank you!
I used this recipe with chard stems instead of celery, and chicken stock instead of white wine. Wow! It was a hit with our dinner guest, and my spouse liked it so much he wants to try it again with other variations. Thank you for the inspiration to help with my chard surplus!
I made this for the second time last night. Fabulous! It totally raises the lowly celery to a higher level. I do remove the strings from the celery before cutting and it ends up meltingly tender. I highly recommend making this recipe with celery – chard stems are probably tasty too but a different flavor profile.