Celery recipes

Braising transforms celery completely — the sharp, raw bite disappears and it becomes tender, sweet, and almost silky. Pancetta and thyme give the dish a savoury backbone, and a little white wine and stock reduce down into a glossy, clinging sauce. This is the kind of simple side dish that quietly becomes everyone's favourite thing on the table.

Celery takes centre stage here, braised into the risotto base so it becomes silky and intensely flavoured, then the reserved leaves are fried until crisp for a brilliant textural contrast. A generous amount of blue cheese stirred through at the end gives the whole thing a savoury, tangy depth. This is proper cold-weather cooking — substantial, warming, and genuinely impressive.

A Middle Eastern-inspired salad that takes celery completely seriously — sliced thinly on the diagonal so every bite is crisp and full of flavour, then matched with sweet Medjool dates and bitter walnuts. The tahini dressing, sharpened with lemon and a little garlic, pulls everything together into something that feels both light and deeply satisfying. Ready in under 25 minutes and entirely the right thing to eat alongside lamb or roast chicken.

Celery is a genuine workhorse in Chinese cooking and this dish proves it — stir-fried at high heat so it stays crisp and fragrant, then tossed with crispy golden tofu and a glossy black bean sauce spiked with Sichuan pepper. The numbing heat of the pepper and the deep umami of the black beans are exactly what celery can hold its own against. Serve with steamed jasmine rice for a genuinely fast weeknight meal.