Celery? Really? As a main ingredient?  Are you crazy?  Yes, I am crazy.  This is fabulous and will change your opinion if you are not a celery fan.

It’s not Greek. It’s not even kinda Greek. But this website is called KINDA GREEK for a reason. I include non Greek Recipes. This week’s recipe is a great way to make this much overlooked vegetable. It’s rarely a featured item. Well, unless you count celery sticks filled with peanut butter…

I thought we’d braise some with a crispy topping.  Searched online for a recipe and ran across Molly Steven’s version of this in her book “All About Braising”. I tinkered with it and ended up with this. One important point she makes is to make sure to remove the strings on the celery stalks. I neglected to do so testing this out. I had a battle on my hands pulling celery strings out of my mouth when eating.

It turned out great.  Much more complex that you’d ever know.  And totally budget conscious.    

• 1 head celery (a full head, like 1.5 to 2 lb)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 large shallot finely minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup dry vermouth
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (the real stuff)
• 4 tablespoons bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Butter a gratin dish or baking dish (9 by 13 inch).

Rinse your celery well. Tear off the biggest outer stalks, about 8-10 of them. Save the leaves on the top of the stalks. Try to scrape off the strings on each stalk. A peeler works well for this. Then cut them into 3 inch lengths. Place them in the baking dish.

Chop the celery heart and leaves finely and sauté with the shallot and thyme until is is starting to brown. Add vermouth and then broth and cook down until it’s about 1/2 cup liquid total.

Pour that goodness over the stalks. Cover the dish with some foil and cook in oven for about 1 hour. At that point, it should be fairly soft.

Take out and turn oven up to 425. Sprinkle bread crumbs and cheese on top. Put back in the oven uncovered for another 15 minutes or so. The topping should be browned.

You want to rest for a bit as it will be molten hot. You can have this lukewarm.

Enjoy!