Chef Thomas
Baked Onions with Cream and Thyme
Whole onions surrendered to a low oven with cream and thyme until they collapse into something golden, sweet and yielding, the kind of side dish that quietly upstages everything else on the table.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Braised Celery with Butter
Created by Chef Thomas
Celery braised long and slow in butter and good stock until it turns soft, silky, and almost sweet, the kind of quiet side dish that makes people ask what you did to it.
Side Dishes
British
Dinner Party
Comfort Food
10 min
Active Time
45 min cook•55 min total
Yield4 servings
Celery is the most overlooked thing in the kitchen. It sits in the salad drawer, waiting to be chopped into a mirepoix or sliced into sticks for a cheese board, and nobody thinks to give it the stage. This is a shame, because celery, braised slowly in butter and a little stock, becomes something else entirely. Soft. Yielding. Almost silky. The sharp, raw bite disappears and what's left is a gentle sweetness you didn't know was in there.
This is an old-fashioned dish. Your grandmother may have made it, or her mother. It fell out of fashion somewhere around the time vegetables were expected to be crisp and bright and arranged on the plate like a small garden. I think that's a loss. There's a place for a green bean with some snap in it, but there's also a place for a vegetable that has been cooked with patience and butter until it gives in completely. This is that place.
I make it in the colder months, when a head of celery from the market feels right in the hand, firm and heavy, the leaves still green and fragrant. It sits alongside a roast chicken or a piece of simply cooked fish, and it does the job that all the best side dishes do: it makes you reach for more without quite knowing why. I wrote it down in the notebook years ago. Celery. Butter. Stock. Wednesday. The note hasn't needed updating since.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
celery
Quantity
2 heads
outer stalks removed, trimmed and halved lengthways
unsalted butter
Quantity
40g
onion or banana shallot
Quantity
1 small
finely sliced
thyme
Quantity
2 sprigs
bay leaf
Quantity
1
chicken or vegetable stock
Quantity
300ml
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
lemon juice
Quantity
a squeeze
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
small handful
roughly chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| celeryouter stalks removed, trimmed and halved lengthways | 2 heads |
| unsalted butter | 40g |
| onion or banana shallotfinely sliced | 1 small |
| thyme | 2 sprigs |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| chicken or vegetable stock | 300ml |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| lemon juice | a squeeze |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)roughly chopped | small handful |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide, heavy-based pan or shallow casserole with a lid
- •Fish slice or wide spatula
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the celery
Trim the celery heads, pulling away any tough or damaged outer stalks. Keep those for stock or for snacking; they're not wasted, just not right for this. Cut each head in half lengthways, keeping the root end intact so the halves hold together. If the heads are very large, quarter them. Rinse under cold water, running your thumb along the inner channels where grit likes to hide.
Don't throw away the leafy tops. They taste like a gentler version of flat-leaf parsley and make a fine garnish for the finished dish, or a quiet addition to a salad. - 2
Start in butter
Melt the butter in a wide, heavy pan or shallow casserole over a medium heat. When it foams and the kitchen smells warm and nutty, lay the celery halves cut-side down in a single layer. Let them sit without moving for three or four minutes until the cut faces take on a little colour, a pale gold, nothing aggressive. Turn them, add the sliced onion or shallot, the thyme, and the bay leaf, and let everything soften together for a couple of minutes more.
- 3
Add stock and braise
Pour in the stock. It should come about halfway up the celery, not cover it. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer, then turn the heat right down, put a lid on, and leave it alone. Check after twenty minutes. The celery should be starting to yield when you press it with a spoon but still have some resistance. Give it another fifteen to twenty minutes, turning once, until it's completely tender and almost translucent. A knife should slip through the thickest part without effort.
Good stock matters here. The celery absorbs it as it cooks, and what it absorbs is what it will taste of. If you have homemade stock, this is a fine place for it. - 4
Reduce and finish
Lift the celery out carefully onto a warm serving dish. It will be very soft now, so a fish slice or wide spatula helps. Turn the heat up under the pan and let the braising liquid bubble down until it thickens into a glossy, buttery sauce, just a few tablespoons' worth. This takes a couple of minutes. Taste it. Adjust the salt. Add a squeeze of lemon, which brightens everything without announcing itself. Spoon the sauce over the celery, scatter the parsley if you have it, and bring it to the table.
Chef Tips
- •Choose celery that feels heavy and tightly packed, with no limpness or browning. The inner stalks should be pale green and smell clean, almost grassy. If it doesn't smell of anything, it won't taste of much either. Trust your nose. It knows before you do.
- •This is a dish that improves with good butter. Use the best you can find, something with a high fat content and a faintly sweet, cultured taste. The butter isn't just a cooking medium here; it becomes the sauce.
- •Don't rush the braising. Low heat and patience are the only technique required. The celery should be so tender it barely holds together when you lift it from the pan. That's not overcooked. That's exactly where you want it.
- •A few gratings of Parmesan over the top before serving isn't traditional, but it works. The salt and nuttiness of the cheese against the sweet, buttery celery is a quietly good thing.
Advance Preparation
- •The celery can be braised up to a day ahead and stored in its liquid in the fridge. Reheat gently in the pan, adding a splash of stock if the sauce has thickened too much.
- •Prepare and trim the celery heads several hours ahead and keep them in cold water until ready to cook.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 185g)
Calories
105 calories
Total Fat
9 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
3 g
Cholesterol
22 mg
Sodium
625 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
2 g
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