Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Braised Celery Casserole with Potatoes, Eggs, and Cheese #Recipe by @Leslie Karst

 

This is a recipe I invented when cleaning out the fridge before leaving on a trip. Noting the near-full head of celery in my vegetable bin, I decided to make a casserole, using that as the focal point. I’d braise the celery and parsley in some butter and the half-bottle of white wine sitting on the shelf, and then add eggs and Romano cheese. And you know what? It turned out to be pretty darn good! 

Ingredients

1 small bunch celery, cut into 2" pieces

1/2 cup parsley, roughly chopped

1/2 bottle dry white wine

2 T butter, cut into chunks

2 T good oil (I used truffle oil, but olive oil is fine)

3 small russet potatoes

5 eggs

1 cup grated hard cheese (I used Romano)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup panko



Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place the celery and parseley in a casserole, then pour in the wine.




Add the butter and drizzle in the oil, cover the casserole, then put it in the oven to braise.

Slice the potatoes,


and blanch them in a large pot of boiling water.



As soon as the potato slices started to get a little soft (poke ’em with a fork to see--it'll only take a couple minutes), pour them into a colander and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.

Next, beat up the five eggs, add all but 2 T of the grated cheese, and the salt and pepper.



When the celery is soft (mine took almost an hour—that’s one tough plant!), mix in the potatoes, then pour the egg/cheese mixture over it all.


Bake this—uncovered this time, but still at 350°—until the eggs are set (about a half an hour).

Sprinkle the remaining 2 T of grated cheese and the panko crumbs on top,


and set it under the broiler to brown. Watch carefully, so it doesn't burn!


It ended up being a bit like a frittata, but heavier on the veg and potatoes and with less egg than its Italian cousin. I'll definitely make it again!


 🍄 🌿 🍶


The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst learned early, during family dinner conversations, the value of both careful analysis and the arts—ideal ingredients for a mystery story. Putting this early education to good use, she now writes the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari Mysteries, a culinary series set in Santa Cruz, California. 
 
An ex-lawyer like her sleuth, Leslie also has degrees in English literature and the culinary arts. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai‘i.


Leslie’s website
Leslie also blogs with Chicks on the Case
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Praise for Leslie's most recent Sally Solari mystery, the Lefty Award-nominated MURDER FROM SCRATCH:
“Karst seasons her writing with an accurate insider’s view of restaurant operation, as well as a tenderness in the way she treats family, death and Sally’s reactions to Evelyn’s blindness.”

Ellery Queen Magazine (featured pick)


All four Sally Solari Mysteries are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.


 

And Dying for a Taste, A Measure of Murder, and Murder from Scratch are now available as AUDIOBOOKS from Audible!





7 comments:

  1. What an interesting and delicious sounding dish. Saving it to try - soon I hope.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  2. I'm not a celery fan, but everything you make looks so delicious!

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    Replies
    1. You might be surprised, Mia--slow- braised celery has a luscious, velvety flavor!

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  3. I grew up eating celery as a focal point cooked into dishes so I can imagine that this dish would be good. And I smiled at this post since I have had several eating-out-the-fridge-before-a-trip experiences.

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    Replies
    1. Eating-out-the-fridge meals can be a wonderful experience!

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  4. Aren't you the clever one? This sounds terrific.
    My mother used to make creamed celery (celery with a white sauce).
    Necessity is indeed the mother of invention.

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    Replies
    1. Ooooo...I LOVE creamed celery! (Creamed anything, actually...)

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