Celery: Under-appreciated Veg Dresses Up Pomegranate Relish

Celery.

I want to know. 

I want to know your honest opinion. Your honest opinion on celery. 

Come on, be honest.  

Me? Well, I think it’s is one of the most underrated vegetables out there. There I said it.

So come on, what do you think? What? Don’t think much about it? Maybe you use it as a vehicle to get peanut butter in your mouth? Maybe you use it as a cooling agent all dipped in blue cheese dressing with your hot wings? Or maybe you use it once a year when you make stuffing? Ah- hah – I knew it! That’s why it’s an underappreciated vegetable. 

While all those are good uses for celery,  with it’s slightly salty, citrusy flavor, it can have so many uses! I first started discovering the wonder of celery after this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Jerusalem. I loved the flavor and freshness it brought to the salad. Since then I’ve been experimenting and this one is a good one, Pomegranate Relish. Don’t be afraid. The ingredients may seem like unlikely matches, but they work great together. 

Oh and by the way, let me clear something up. You may be thinking, isn’t celery one of those negative calorie foods? Yeah, I know you’ve heard this before. Well, I just have one thing to say – show me the evidence! While there are many foods that are very low in calorie, such as celery and you do use energy to digest food, there just isn’t any actual evidence that proves you burn more calories digesting it than it contains. 

Bottom line? While including very low-calorie foods may not provide you with actual negative calories, they do contribute towards your daily vegetable intake (2 large stalks = 1 cup of veggies!) So it’s still a good idea to include them as part of a balanced diet.  And if you’re looking to add some texture and crunch to any of your dishes why not give celery a try?

What ways have you experimented?