Creamed Celery Casserole Recipes

CELERY CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Cook celery in salted boiling water for 7 minutes and drain.
• Combine with water chestnuts and soup, pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole.
• In a sauté pan, melt butter, add cracker crumbs and almonds and stir until well mixed.
• Sprinkle over celery mixture and bake for 30 minutes.

CREAMED CELERY CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease/spray a 2 qt casserole dish.
• Boil celery in salted water for about 5 minutes; Drain.
• In a large bowl, mix almonds, water chestnuts, mushrooms and salt with celery.
• In a small saucepan, melt the 3 tbsp butter and stir in the flour until smooth. Add milk, chicken broth and parmesan cheese. Stir and cook on low until thick. Mix with celery mixture.
• Put into the prepared casserole dish.
• In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tbsp melted butter and the breadcrumbs; sprinkle on top of the casserole.
• Bake, uncovered at 350 about 30 minutes or until bubbly.

CREAMED CELERY

Steps:

• Simmer vegetables and rosemary in stock until tender (10 - 15 minutes.).
• In another sauce pan melt butter; blend in flour, salt and pepper.
• Add milk, cook until thickened.
• Stir sauce into undrained vegetables.

CREAMED CELERY, FROM 1928

Steps:

• Cut celery to 1 inch pieces.
• Cover with water and cook till tender but not soft.
• Drain, saving the celery liquid.
• Melt the butter, mix in the flour and gradually blend in the milk to make a smooth white sauce.
• Use some saved celery liquid to thin the sauce if needed and save the rest for the soup pot.
• Mix the cooked celery into the sauce and turn into a well buttered dish (oven proof).
• Sprinkle the cheese over the top.
• Sprinkle the crumbs that have been lightly browned in the butter over the top of the dish.
• Bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for about 20 mins or until the cheese melts and the mixture is heated through/.

CREAMY CELERY AND ONION CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Clean the celery, washing off all dirt. Chop into desired size. I suggest cutting the ribs into approximately 1 inch pieces (I cut on the diagonal to try to make it look fancier). Include the ribs and as much of the leafy greens as you can--they're tasty too! (My cleaning approach for a particularly muddy head of celery was to chop first, discarding the dried out tops, dunk it all in a bowl of cold water and swish around to get the dirt to fall to the bottom, and then scoop out the celery pieces into a salad spinner to remove excess water.).
• In a medium to large size saucepan on the stove top, saute the celery (you may need to work in two to three batches depending on your pan size and amount of celery) in the 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. (If you saute in batches, only use a total of 1 tbsp oil--e.g. if you saute in two batches use about 1/2 tbsp per batch.) When sauteing, try to develop a little of the browning/carmelization that will give the dish extra flavor by not stirring constantly. When the celery has cooked to your desired done-ness (e.g., I like mine lightly sauteed and still a little crispy), lightly salt and transfer to a 8 x 8 square glass baking dish. Repeat until all celery is sauteed and in the baking dish.
• (Assuming you have not burned the celery in the pot) Using the same hot pot you just emptied of the last batch of sauteed celery, over medium heat add another 1 tbsp of olive oil and the diced onion. Saute for a few minutes to your desired done-ness. Add the 1 1/2 tbsp butter and allow to thoroughly melt, stirring in to the onions. Once melted, add the 1 1/2 tbsp flour and stir well. Keep stirring for a few minutes--not allowing to burn--as the roux comes together. (Just keep it moving in the pan, and take it off the heat if you think it is starting to burn.).
• Slowly add small amount of the milk, stirring well after each addition to thoroughly incorporate. Add the nutmeg and taste for seasoning. You'll probably need to add more salt, maybe even a few tablespoons (depending on the type of salt you use). Keep stirring the mixture over medium heat until you get the seasonings right and the mixture comes just up to a boil and thickens. Turn off the heat.
• Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs.
• Add the sauteed celery back in and stir to coat the celery with the creamy mixture. Transfer the creamy celery mixture back to the baking dish. Top with the butter/bread crumb mixture and bake (or broil if you pan can handle it) in the oven just to brown the bread crumbs.
• Variations: You could add or substitute other vegetables in this dish, e.g., peas, carrots, potatoes, brussel sprouts, cubed squash, asparagus, leafy greens. You could also add herbs and spices to your liking. You could add shredded cheese to the roux once it comes together to give it a cheesier flavor. You can omit the bread crumb topping--I often do.