Homemade Celery Salt

I am working my way through possible holiday gift projects.  Last year, I doled out homemade Baileys/Irish Cream, which was festive if slightly ironic considering I was pregnant and unable to enjoy it!  Previous years I've made salad dressing, flavored olive oils and homemade body scrubs. It is fun.

With two weeks of CSA celery stalks teetering towards wilt in my crisper, and the following recipe in my inbox, it was time for celery salt.  So easy to make, even easier to enjoy.  Perfect on fish, in a salad, topping soup and, my latest obsession, over scrambled eggs. 

This may just make the Holiday 2012 cut!  Do you have a go-to homemade gift? I'd love to hear about it below.

Homemade Celery Salt

Courtesy of 101 Cookbooks, a favorite food blog

Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 7 min

Ingredients

• Leaves from one bunch of celery
• Flaky sea salt (Maldon sea salt is recommended)

Directions

• Pick all the leaves from the celery stalk, leaving stems behind.
• Rinse the leaves with cold water and then shake off as much water as you can. Gently pat them dry in a clean dish towel, or with paper towels ensuring they are as dry as possible. 
• Arrange the leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet, then roast in a 350F / 180C oven for about 5-7 minutes. Bake until dehydrated and crispy, but not browned.
• Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Once cool, use your fingers to crumble the leaves completely, discarding any leaves that aren't crispy.
• Combine equal parts celery leaves and salt in a jar, and shake to distribute the celery leaves evenly. Voila.

 

Curried Celery Soup

We all know not to judge a book by its cover, and in this case, that means not judging a recipe by its title.  I like celery as much as the next gal.  It's crunchy. It has has terrific hummus and peanut butter scooping propensities. I also love Indian Food.  Somehow, though, curried + celery + soup sounded, well... sorta just okay, not terribly special.

The deluge of celery in my weekly CSA and gorgeous list of accompanying ingrediants turned me onto this not-so-aptly titled soup and I am grateful for it.  Think Indian root vegetable stew, not just curried celery.

If you like Indian food and thick fall soups, this ones for you (that means you Penny!). Top with a dollop of fresh yogurt or sour cream and dig in!

Curried Celery Soup

Recipe courtesy of MyFarmShare 

4 servings 

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 6 celery stalks, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 1 cup celery leaves, chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 apple, diced
• 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth  
• 4 teaspoons curry powder (or garam masala which is all I had on hand!)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin (omit if using garam masala)
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• salt and pepper

Directions

• Sauté the onion, carrot and celery in a little vegetable oil for about 10 minutes.  
• Add the potatoes, sauté for another 5 minutes.  
• Add the garlic, the apple and the spices, continue to sauté for a few more minutes.
• Add the broth, scrape the bottom of the pan and bring to a simmer.  
• Cook for another 10 - 20 minutes (test to make sure a potato cube is cooked) and then add the celery leaves and cook for another 5 minutes.  
• You can blend the whole batch with in a food processor or with an immersion blender, however, I'd suggest just blending half for a chunkier end product.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve topped with a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt.