Chef Juliette
Suet Dumpling
Boulettes au suif, poached beside salt beef, turn equal weights of flour and finely chopped suet into tender, rich dumplings. Keep the beef liquor at a bare tremble and the old garnish works beautifully at home.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Various Preparations of Celery
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2065, Various Preparations of Celery, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
One gentle braise turns celery into six classical dishes: glossy with jus, bronzed under Parmesan or Mornay, crisped à la Milanaise, or dressed à l'Italienne or with Hollandaise.
Side Dishes
French
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
25 min
Active Time
1 hr 5 min cook•1 hr 30 min total
Yield4 servings
Préparations diverses de céleri teach one of the canon's most useful truths: once a vegetable has been blanched and braised properly, its finish can change while its character stays intact. The celery must become tender enough for a knife to enter without resistance, yet hold its long shape. That is the one true thing to know before you touch the pan.
The old entry is deliberately terse because it assumes the cardoon treatments are already known, with a saucier beside the stove, stock never off the fire, and a salamander waiting to glaze each dish. At home, braise one modest batch in good prepared stock, reduce its liquor in a small saucepan, then choose one finish; a domestic broiler supplies the fierce top heat. The parallel pans and brigade portions were scaffolding, so they go. The blanch, the slow braise, and the finished sauce stay, because they are the dish. One cook, one stove, one evening.
Watch the braise, not the clock. A hard boil splits the ribs and drives out their sweetness; a bare tremble turns celery satin-soft while it stays whole. If the pot runs dry or the celery softens too quickly, the rescue sits inside the method. The gentle braise is the step that decides every version.
These preparations belong to the Parisian classical and bourgeois table, where cooks organized vegetables by families of technique as readily as sauces. Celery could inherit the formulas used for cardoons because both offer long, ribbed stalks that welcome blanching, braising, and a rich finish, though celery is more aromatic and cooks much faster. The Italian names, au Parmesan, à la Milanaise, and à l'Italienne, record Italian methods absorbed into the French canon; they do not turn the dish Provençal or assign it to one French region.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large celery hearts
Quantity
2 (about 1 lb 12 oz / 800 g)
tough outer ribs removed and strings peeled
cold water
Quantity
12 cups (2.8 L / 2.8 kg)
fresh lemon juice
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g)
fine sea salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g)
divided
unsalted butter
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
divided, for braising
small onion
Quantity
1 (about 4 oz / 115 g)
thinly sliced
small carrot
Quantity
1 (about 3 oz / 85 g)
thinly sliced
unsalted light chicken or vegetable stock
Quantity
2 cups (480 ml / 480 g)
bouquet garni
Quantity
1
1 bay leaf, 2 thyme sprigs, and 4 parsley stems
freshly ground white pepper
Quantity
¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g)
finely grated Parmesan (optional)
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 60 g)
for the au Parmesan finish
unsalted butter (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g)
diced, for the au Parmesan finish
finished Sauce Mornay (optional)
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 315 g)
warmed
finely grated Parmesan (optional)
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 20 g)
for the Sauce Mornay finish
unsalted butter (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g)
diced, for the Sauce Mornay finish
fine dry breadcrumbs (optional)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 50 g)
for the à la Milanaise finish
finely grated Parmesan (optional)
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 40 g)
for the à la Milanaise finish
unsalted butter (optional)
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g)
for the à la Milanaise finish
finished Sauce Italienne (optional)
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 320 g)
warmed
finished Sauce Hollandaise (optional)
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 285 g)
held warm
finished plain gravy (optional)
Quantity
1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g)
heated
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large celery heartstough outer ribs removed and strings peeled | 2 (about 1 lb 12 oz / 800 g) |
| cold water | 12 cups (2.8 L / 2.8 kg) |
| fresh lemon juice | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 30 g) |
| fine sea saltdivided | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g) |
| unsalted butterdivided, for braising | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| small onionthinly sliced | 1 (about 4 oz / 115 g) |
| small carrotthinly sliced | 1 (about 3 oz / 85 g) |
| unsalted light chicken or vegetable stock | 2 cups (480 ml / 480 g) |
| bouquet garni1 bay leaf, 2 thyme sprigs, and 4 parsley stems | 1 |
| freshly ground white pepper | ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml / 0.6 g) |
| finely grated Parmesan (optional)for the au Parmesan finish | ¾ cup (180 ml / 60 g) |
| unsalted butter (optional)diced, for the au Parmesan finish | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) |
| finished Sauce Mornay (optional)warmed | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 315 g) |
| finely grated Parmesan (optional)for the Sauce Mornay finish | ¼ cup (60 ml / 20 g) |
| unsalted butter (optional)diced, for the Sauce Mornay finish | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 14 g) |
| fine dry breadcrumbs (optional)for the à la Milanaise finish | ½ cup (120 ml / 50 g) |
| finely grated Parmesan (optional)for the à la Milanaise finish | ½ cup (120 ml / 40 g) |
| unsalted butter (optional)for the à la Milanaise finish | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) |
| finished Sauce Italienne (optional)warmed | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 320 g) |
| finished Sauce Hollandaise (optional)held warm | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 285 g) |
| finished plain gravy (optional)heated | 1¼ cups (300 ml / 300 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •12-inch (30 cm) wide lidded braising pan
- •Baking parchment for the cartouche
- •2-quart (2 L) shallow broiler-safe gratin dish
- •Small pale saucepan
- •Vegetable peeler
Instructions
- 1
Trim the celery
Separate the celery hearts into long ribs. Remove any bruised ends, peel away the coarse strings with a vegetable peeler, and cut the ribs into even 5-inch (12 cm) lengths; split exceptionally thick ribs lengthwise. Put them immediately into the cold water mixed with the lemon juice so the cut surfaces stay pale.
Keep the tender leaves for soup or salad, and send the tough outer stalks to the stockpot. The braising dish wants ribs of similar thickness so they become tender together. - 2
Blanch the ribs
Bring the lemon water to a full boil and add 1½ teaspoons of the salt. Blanchir, briefly boil, the celery for 6 to 8 minutes, until the raw stiffness has relaxed but the ribs remain distinctly firm. Drain carefully. This blanch removes harshness and starts the thick ribs cooking evenly; skip it and the outside may collapse before the centre yields.
- 3
Set the braise
Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spread the onion and carrot across a wide lidded braising pan and dot them with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Arrange the celery snugly over them, add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, the white pepper, bouquet garni, and enough stock to reach halfway up the ribs. Butter a cartouche, a parchment lid cut to the pan, with the remaining tablespoon of butter and press its buttered side against the celery. Cover the pan.
- 4
Braise at a tremble
Braise for 35 to 45 minutes, checking after 30. The liquid beneath the paper should barely tremble, and a narrow knife should enter the thickest rib without force while the celery still holds together. If the liquid boils hard, lower the heat and add a few spoonfuls of cold stock. If the ribs have already softened enough to split, stop moving them, finish the cooking uncovered in their serving dish, and choose the Mornay or au Parmesan treatment to hold them together. Ça se rattrape.
Celery cooks much faster than cardoon. Tenderness, not the written minute, decides when it leaves the braise. - 5
Reduce the liquor
Lift the celery into a warm dish without breaking the ribs. Strain the braising liquor into a small saucepan, pressing gently on the onion and carrot, then reduce it over lively heat to about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g), glossy enough to coat a spoon lightly. If it tastes too salty before it gains body, add unsalted stock a little at a time and reduce more gently. Choose one of the following six finishes; they are alternatives, not a procession.
- 6
Finish with gravy
Arrange the celery in a warmed serving dish and spoon over enough reduced braising liquor to glaze the ribs lightly. Nap them with the hot finished plain gravy and hold at the barest simmer for 2 minutes, just long enough for sauce and vegetable to meet. If the gravy is too thick to flow, loosen it with a spoonful of the braising liquor.
- 7
Finish au Parmesan
Heat the broiler and set a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below it. Arrange half the celery in a buttered shallow gratin dish, moisten with 2 tablespoons of reduced braising liquor, and scatter over half the Parmesan. Repeat, dot with the diced butter, and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese is deeply bronzed and the rim bubbles. Warm the celery before broiling; the fierce heat is for color, not for reheating a cold centre.
- 8
Use Sauce Mornay
Arrange the warm celery in a shallow gratin dish and nap it completely with the finished Sauce Mornay. If the sauce sits in a heavy mound, loosen it with 1 or 2 tablespoons of reduced braising liquor; if it runs like milk, reduce it before it touches the celery. Scatter over the Parmesan, dot with butter, and broil until the ivory sauce bubbles at the edges and wears an even bronze crown.
- 9
Finish à la Milanaise
Arrange the warm celery in one layer in a shallow gratin dish. Mix the breadcrumbs with the Parmesan and scatter them evenly over the ribs. Cook the butter in a small pale pan until it becomes beurre noisette, butter browned to a hazelnut color, then spoon it over the crumbs. Broil briefly until the coating is crisp and bronze, rotating the dish if one side colors faster.
- 10
Use Sauce Italienne
Bring the finished Sauce Italienne to a bare simmer in a wide pan. Nestle the braised celery into it and warm for 4 to 5 minutes, turning the ribs once with care so the sauce coats rather than drowns them. Transfer the celery to a warm serving dish and spoon the mushroom-rich sauce over it.
- 11
Add Sauce Hollandaise
Warm the celery gently in a little reduced braising liquor, then drain and blot the ribs so water cannot send the finished Sauce Hollandaise sliding onto the plate. Arrange them on a warm platter and spoon the Hollandaise over at the final moment. Keep this version away from the broiler; Hollandaise is an emulsion and fierce heat breaks it.
- 12
Bring it to table
Whichever finish you chose, serve the celery in its long ribs and spoon any sauce gathered in the dish back over the top. Let the gratinéed versions settle for 3 minutes; serve the Hollandaise version at once. Cooking well is not cooking fancy. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose celery hearts with rigid, closely packed ribs and fresh leaves. Limp stalks can still flavor a pot, but they won't survive blanching and braising with their shape intact.
- •The source treats Sauce Mornay, Sauce Italienne, Sauce Hollandaise, and gravy as finished components, so their methods remain in their own preparations. Choose one and have it ready before finishing the celery; making all four would recreate the brigade this recipe is meant to spare you.
- •The au Parmesan and à la Milanaise versions want a dry white with enough freshness for butter and cheese. With Sauce Italienne or gravy beside roasted meat, pour the wine chosen for the main dish.
- •Refrigerate leftover braised celery in its liquor for up to 2 days. Gratin only the amount you plan to serve, since repeated heating softens the ribs past the point of pleasure.
Advance Preparation
- •Braise the celery up to 1 day ahead and chill it in its strained liquor. Reheat gently in that liquor, drain, then complete the chosen finish.
- •Sauce Mornay, Sauce Italienne, and gravy may be prepared ahead according to their own methods and reheated carefully. Sauce Hollandaise belongs to the final minutes and should be finished close to serving.
- •The celery can be trimmed and held for several hours in the lemon water under refrigeration. Drain it only when the blanching water is ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 250g)
Calories
135 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
25 mg
Sodium
830 mg
Total Carbohydrates
12 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
5 g
Protein
3 g
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