Summer of Stir Fry

I think it's been years since my big beautiful carbon steel wok came down off the high shelf. When we moved here we found a sad little electric stove -- hardly high enough heat for a decent stir fry and no grates to hold the fully round bottom pan in place.
But look at me now with 18,000 BTU per burner quickly tossing together a dinner of tofu, carrots, onions, celery, mushrooms and peppers. That wok turned what looked like a pretty dismal selection of vegetables, minced garlic and ginger, and a couple pantry staples (soy sauce -- 2 TB, hoisin -- 2-3 tsp, sesame oil -- 2 tsp, brown sugar -- 1 1/2 tsp mixed together into a sauce)into way more than the sum of it's parts all in about 15 minutes. Super fast, tasty, too quick to heat up the kitchen and not a lot of prep to tackle -- its' the perfect summer dinner. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

A Garden Patch Of Celery

For some reason in the excitement of my new garden this past spring, I planted a big bed of celery. True, I like to add the cleanly flavorful leaves to sauces and herb salads but rarely do I make a side dish of braised celery as the Italians do. Most recipes I whip up use just a couple stalks. So now with a patch brimming with bright green stalks I needed recipes featuring this oft maligned vegetable.
Today I stared with this creamy celery soup based on one I found at marthastewart.com.
I sautéed one chopped onion, one peeled, cubed potato, and about 15 stalks of celery with the leaves in a good sized knob of butter. After 10 minutes or so I added in 6 cups of water and S&P to season and brought the liquid up to a boil. After simmering for 20 minutes the potato and celery were tender and the broth delicately flavored. In two batches, I puréed the soup in the blender along with a good sized dollop of creme fraiche.
Even creamier might have been better (or with a "little garlic and onion" as James generally suggests) but all in all not bad for a quick, garden fresh, homemade soup. Just right for dipping a gooey grilled cheese.

Chunky Celery Soup

We made Bloody Mary's on Sunday and I forgot to put out the celery sticks so now I have a fridge full of celery. Soup. Time for soup. I chopped up one red onion, one yellow onion, 3 carrots, and about 10 stalks of celery and added them to a soup pot with a good dollop of olive oil. I let the veggies cook until the onion was just translucent and added in 3 chopped cloves of garlic, a large pinch of chili peppers, S&P, and a good splash of white wine. The wine cooked down until it was almost evaporated and then I added in about 6 cups of chicken broth, a drained can of pinto beans, and some leftover steamed fingerling potatoes. I brought the soup up to a simmer and let it cook for about 10 minutes until the veggies were tender but not mushy. I added in about a 1 1/2 cups of cooked wild rice for the last couple minutes (just to heat through).

Meanwhile I made a quick pesto ( a flavored oil really) with celery leaves, parsley, a bit of fresh sage, hazelnuts, pecorino cheese, and olive oil. Just before serving I laid a dollop of pesto of top of the hot soup for extra flavor.

Italian Country Style Celery Soup

I tend to make this dish after I have had a party where I served dip. I always seem to have more celery sticks than anyone eats -- or than I feel like eating ever, so I pull out this recipe for a warm easy leftover (the oyster party lives on) dinner.

First sauté a chopped onion, 3-4 slices chopped bacon, some cracked pepper and a couple cloves of garlic in olive oil. When the onion is soft add in two TBs of tomato paste and 2 bunches of chopped celery. Stir those around for 5 minutes or so, add 1 quart of chicken stock and allow the pot to simmer (covered) for 20 minutes or so. Next uncover the pot and add 1/2 cup uncooked rice and allow to simmer for 15 minutes more or until the rice is cooked. Season with S&P and serve.

Usually I would top this soup with a handful of freshly grated parmesan, but we were low on parmesan and have a fridge full of cheese leftovers so I made a few taleggio toasts and floated them on top.