Melissa d'Arabian's Creamy Celery With Savory Pecan-Granola Crumble

"I’m always looking for ways to use up those few stalks of celery that seem to linger in the crisper drawer. This recipe is great because the celery isn’t just an ingredient—it’s the dish! I cook the celery until it’s tender and then bake it in a wonderfully creamy béchamel sauce that gets a hint of nuttiness from Parmesan cheese. The crunchy and buttery pecan granola on top is like bread crumbs brought to a whole new level. It also works beautifully sprinkled over any kind of vegetable gratin or as a nice textural counterpoint to a pan-seared fish fillet."

From Ten Dollar Dinners. Copyright © 2012 by Melissa d’Arabian

Serves 

Preparation time: 10 minutes (plus 5 minutes to cool)

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

For the pecan crumble:

• 3 tablespoons plain bread crumbs
• 3 tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter

For the celery:

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 5 celery stalks, trimmed, roughly chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Coat the bottom and edges of a small 1-quart baking dish with nonstick pan spray and set aside.
2. To make the pecan crumble, stir the bread crumbs, oats, pecans, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl. Add the butter and use a fork to stir to combine until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
3. To make the celery, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1½ teaspoons of the salt and the celery, and cook until almost tender and still just a little crunchy in the middle, 8 to 9 minutes. Drain the celery and set it aside. Meanwhile, warm the milk in the microwave or in a small saucepan and set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook while whisking for 1 minute. Whisk in a little of the warm milk until the paste is smooth, then whisk in the remaining milk. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, whisking occasionally, until the sauce thickens, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the Parmesan, the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and the pepper.
5. Use a heatproof rubber spatula to mix the cooked celery into the sauce and then scrape the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble over the celery and bake until the celery is bubbling around the edges and the crumble is golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Reprinted from the book Ten Dollar Dinners. Copyright © 2012 by Melissa d’Arabian. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc.