Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Celery saving tips


Freezer prepped ingredients or meals have saved my life and one of my favourites is this simple recipe that I like to call "soup starter" because it's so handy to just pull out of the freezer and throw a couple of beans and greens over and a little broth and you've got a meal!

Soup starter is basically a meripoix but without the onion (because my husband doesn't like onions but if it was just for me I would totally add them)

- 3 bunches of celery, use the stalks and save the tender hearts for snacking, and the bottoms are useful too for stock.
- 9 big carrots

Peel the carrots and dice. Clean the celery stalks and dice.

It's easier to do this in 2 pots so I got 2 big pots going on the stove with a little oil and then I add half of the celery and carrot to each and sautee away, the carrots will begin to soften and release a lot of colour into the oil. Season with salt or I use A.Vogel's veggie infused seasalt product which is super handy!

At this point you add a little stock or even water works, just a couple of tbsps (maybe 1/4 cup) and cover, simmer until carrots are just tender.

Once it's done remove from the heat and cool completely then you can bag it and freeze, try to break it up while it's freezing (kind of like you would do with a granita so you don't end up with a big ball of frozen veg that you can't portion)

I'm on my second batch and truly this is just such a handy mix to have around.

For the celery middles, sometimes I save them for snacking and as you see the bottoms go into a stock so every part of the vegetable is used.


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