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Celery Almandine
Serves 2 as a main course
1 head of celery or 2 celery hearts
1 bay leaf
25g/1oz butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
100g/3 ½ oz flaked almonds
a little milk (optional)
25g/1oz plain flour
2 tbls cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wash and trim the celery, removing any damaged or tough stems, then chop it quite finely; do this by cutting down the length of each stem several times to produce long, thin strips then cutting across to produce little dice. Put the celery into a saucepan with the bay leaf and water just to cover, then bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the celery is very tender. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion and cook gently, covered, for about 5 minutes or until softened. Heat the grill. Spread half the almonds out on a grill pan and grill for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the grill, leaving the grill on. Drain the celery, reserving the liquid and making it up to 300ml/ ½ pint if necessary with some water or a little milk. Stir the flour into the onion and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add the celery liquid, stirring all the time. Simmer gently over a very low heat for about 5 minutes. Add the celery and continue to cook gently until the celery is heated through. Scatter the toasted almonds evenly over the base of a shallow gratin dish. Stir the cream into the celery mixture, season with salt and pepper, then spoon it into the dish on top of the almonds. Sprinkle the remaining, un-toasted, almonds on top and put it under the grill until the almonds are golden brown and everything is piping hot.
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