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Creamed Celery, Almonds
2 cups celery 1/4 cup shortening 1/4 cup flour 2 cups milk or celery stock 1/2 cup blanched almonds salt and pepper Cook celery, cut in one inch pieces, in boiling water until tender; drain and add cream sauce made of the shortening, flour and milk. Stir into it almonds, and season with salt and pepper. The sauce may be made with half milk and half celery stock. Serves 6.
A plain white-sauce vegetable dish from the era when a creamed side was standard company-dinner fare. The proportions make a fairly thick sauce, which is intentional — it should coat the celery rather than pool.
- Don't overcook the celeryOne-inch pieces will usually be tender in something like 8-12 minutes in boiling water; stop while a knife still meets slight resistance. Celery boiled to full softness collapses into strings once the sauce goes on.
- "Shortening" hereIn books of this period shortening means butter, lard or a hydrogenated vegetable fat interchangeably. Butter is the better choice for a cream sauce; 1/4 cup is 4 tablespoons.
- The roux ratioQuarter-cups of fat and flour to 2 cups liquid gives a medium-bodied sauce, on the thicker side of a coating consistency. Cook the flour in the fat for a minute or two before adding liquid, or it will taste pasty.
- Celery stockThe suggestion to use half the cooking water is worth taking, since it carries the celery flavour that would otherwise go down the drain. Season at the end, once you can taste how much salt the stock has brought with it.
- Blanched almondsBuy them already blanched, or drop whole almonds into boiling water for a minute and slip the skins off. Toasting them dry in a pan for a few minutes before they go in adds a good deal; add them at the last moment so they stay crisp.
- SeasoningWhite pepper keeps the sauce from being flecked, and a scrape of nutmeg is a period-appropriate addition. Celery and cream both need more salt than cooks expect.
- ServingSix modest side servings. It holds badly — the sauce thickens and the almonds soften — so assemble it just before it goes to the table.