The encyclopædia of practical cookery

Celery — continued. stewpan with trimmings of bacon, put the heads of Celery in, just cover them with broth, and add a few cloves and peppercorns ; then butter some paper and cover the heads with it, and let them simmer gently until they are tender. When they are done, drain, trim, and pile them up in pyramids on a dish. Strain the gravy, skim off all fat, and reduce it to half-glaze ; work up a small piece of butter to a cream, put it in with the gravy, and when it is incorporated pour the whole over the Celery, and serve. (2) Cut off the tops of twelve heads of Celery, leaving about 6 in. attached to the root, wash well without parting the sticks, put them into a saucepan of boiling water, and scald them for about a quarter of an hour ; then plunge them into cold water, take them out, drain, and tie three of them together. Put sufficient thin slices of fat bacon at the bottom of a saucepan to cover it, place the Celery on this, add a little parsley and salt, a few onions or scallions, and sufficient good broth to moisten. Cover over the whole with more slices of bacon, and then with a piece of buttered paper ; boil up, and then simmer until the Celery is done. Take out the bundles of Celery, drain them, cut them apart, put them into a frying-pan with a good supply of butter, and fry. When done, take them out, drain them, put on a dish, and serve. (3) Cut half-a-dozen white stalks of Celery into pieces about 2 in. long, boil until tender in boiling salted water, dip them in batter, and fry a golden-brown in smoking-hot fat. To make the batter, mix together smoothly the yolk of an egg, 1 tablespoonful of salad-oil, a little salt, pepper, and nutmeg, 1 lb. of flour, and sufficient cold water to make the batter stiff enough to hold the drops from a spoon. A few minutes before using stir into it the white of the egg beaten to a stiff froth. Fry the fritters just before they are required for use, laying them on brown paper for a moment after taking them from the hot fat, in order to free them from grease, and sprinkling them lightly with salt. Celery with Gravy. — Cut off the tops of six heads of Celery, leaving each head 6 in. long, trim the outside leaves, and cut the roots to a point. When well washed, put them for ten minutes in boiling water to blanch them, and when they are cool rinse them in cold water. Tie the heads in two bundles, put them in a stewpan with one small carrot, one small onion, one bunch of sweet herbs and parsley, a pinch each of salt and pepper, 1 gill of stockpot fat, 2 gills of water, and 3 gills of broth ; cover some paper over the top, put the lid on, and let it simmer for two hours. When done, take the heads of Celery out very carefully, drain them, and arrange on a dish : three heads at the bottom, then two, and then one. Put 1 table-spoonful of butter and 1 table-spoonful of flour in a stewpan, stir it over the fire for three minutes, and then add 1 1/2 pints of stock ; stir, and boil quickly until reduced to 1 pint ; then strain and pour it over the Celery.