Buenos Aires – Celery is one of those much maligned vegetables. You know the type – okra, avocados, lima beans. You wouldn’t think it would fall into that category, but stop and think about it – other than that ubiquitous staple of the buffet, the “celery stick,” or maybe mixed into a salad, when was the last time you did anything with a stalk of celery? I’m always fond of the unusual when it comes to the use of ingredients, and my friends have been subjected to things like cream of radish soup, green papaya cake, and stewed celery. So when I was flipping through my new Argentine baking book and saw a recipe for celery bread, how could I pass it up?

Some thoughts. I’m not clear who put the recipes together in this book. I’m not clear that they tested them out thoroughly. I’m quite clear that the recipe is just not right. The flavor of it came out perfectly, so they got that correct. The texture reminded me of one of those matzoh balls that some aunt or other used to make – it could be shot out of a cannon and do damage to armored hull plating. Two things are needed to correct this recipe, and I’ll give it another try in the near future and post the results then, but I thought it would be interesting to share – after all, that’s why I’m blogging. Simply, I’d add some sort of leavening to this bread, probably baking soda, and I’d go for a much thinner sort of “flatbread” style, maybe cooking it in smaller batches on a griddle.

Celery Quickbread

2 cups of white flour
1 cup of water
3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of oil

Mix the first four ingredients together thoroughly to form a paste – it will not be doughlike. Heat the oil in a large frying pan (I only had a large wok), and spread the paste out. Cook over low to medium heat, 7-10 minutes on each side, being careful not to burn it.

Now, as I said, I think I’d add a teaspoon or so of baking soda to give it a little puff, and I’d cook it in smaller quantities, much thinner, to make more of a flatbread. If you like celery, you’ll love this. You could also make some variations – maybe use celery salt instead of plain salt, or add some herbs to the mixture. Have fun and play with it!