Celery Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •8-quart (7.5 L) wide lidded pot or rondeau
• •Heat-safe blender
• •Fine-mesh sieve and flexible spatula
• •3-quart (2.8 L) heatproof bowl or saucepan with a wider pan for the bain-marie

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the hearts

   Pull away every dark, coarse outer rib until only the compact, pale celery hearts remain. Trim the bases without cutting so deeply that the hearts fall apart, then rinse carefully between the ribs. Halve only the largest hearts lengthwise so all six cook at the same rate. Press the dried clove into the peeled onion to make an oignon piqué, a clove-studded onion.

2. 2

   Poach in consommé

   Arrange the celery snugly in a wide lidded pan. Add the bouquet garni and oignon piqué, then pour over enough consommé to immerse the hearts completely. Bring it just to a simmer, cover, and cook gently for 45 to 60 minutes. The liquid should barely tremble; a hard boil knocks the hearts apart before their fibers soften.

   Push a narrow knife into the thick base of the largest heart. It must pass through as easily as through softened butter. If you feel a string catch the blade, give the celery another ten minutes.
3. 3

   Drain and reduce

   Lift the tender hearts into a colander and let them drain thoroughly. Discard the bouquet garni and onion. Strain 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the celery-scented consommé into a small saucepan and reduce it at a lively simmer to 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g). Keep this reduced liquor warm; it will adjust the finished sauce without weakening its flavor.

4. 4

   Purée and sieve

   Let the celery cool for five minutes, then blend it in two or three batches until completely smooth. Never fill a blender jar more than halfway with hot food; remove the center cap, cover the opening loosely with a folded towel, and begin at low speed. Press the purée through a fine-mesh sieve with a flexible spatula, leaving the dry strings behind. If the pulp refuses to pass, it was not tender enough. Ça se rattrape: return it to the pan with a little reserved consommé, simmer for ten minutes, then blend and sieve again.

5. 5

   Match equal measures

   Measure the sieved celery purée by volume; six small hearts should give about 4 cups (960 ml). Put it in a clean saucepan and add exactly the same volume of warm finished cream sauce. The equality matters more than the nominal yield, so if you have 3 1/2 cups of purée, use 3 1/2 cups of cream sauce. Plain liquid cream is not the equivalent: the finished cream sauce supplies the body that lets the celery remain suspended.

6. 6

   Heat with restraint

   Warm the combined sauce over moderate heat, stirring along the bottom and into the corners, until it is glossy and hot but never boiling. Add the reduced celery liquor a tablespoon at a time until the sauce falls from the spoon in a broad ribbon and nappes, or coats, its back. If it becomes too loose, keep it over gentle heat and stir until it regains body. If the bottom catches, pour the unscorched sauce into a clean pan without scraping, then sieve it once more. Ça se rattrape.

7. 7

   Hold au bain-marie

   Transfer the sauce to a heatproof bowl or saucepan and set it in a wider pan of hot water reaching halfway up its sides. Keep the water between 160 and 180°F (71 and 82°C), never boiling, and hold the sauce at or above 140°F (60°C). Cover and stir every ten minutes so no skin forms. Hold for no longer than 45 minutes, then spoon it generously over boiled or braised poultry. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Use only the pale, compact hearts. The outer ribs carry tougher strings and a harsher celery flavor; save them for another stockpot, where both qualities become useful.
• •The formula calls for finished cream sauce, not a pour of heavy cream. Prepare that component before beginning, and keep its real butter and cream intact. The sauce needs its structure as much as its richness.
• •Do not throw away the celery poaching liquor. Reducing a small portion concentrates the flavor and gives you precise control at the finish; unreduced consommé would thin the sauce before it tasted more strongly of celery.
• •Serve Sauce au Céleri with poached chicken, braised capon, or gently cooked turkey. It should surround the meat in a generous pool, not sit on top in a decorative streak. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.

Advance Preparation

• •The celery may be poached, puréed, and sieved one day ahead. Cover and refrigerate the purée and reduced celery liquor separately, then warm both gently before combining with the cream sauce.
• •The completed sauce may be refrigerated for up to three days. Cool it promptly, cover it, and reheat it slowly in a bain-marie, stirring often. If it has tightened in the cold, loosen it with the reserved reduced celery liquor.
• •For dinner service, finish the sauce up to 45 minutes before serving and hold it in the bain-marie. Do not let the water boil, or the cream sauce may catch around the edges.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)