Roasted Celery Puree

I’ve been enjoying the Chicken Curry Salad for lunch all week and have enjoyed reading all the comments about the recipe.  I look forward to getting feedback from those who make it!

What to do with the remainder of the bunch of celery?  I did a bit of Pinterest searching (I know, going to Pinterest to search ‘celery’ seems odd) and didn’t quite find anything that jumped out at me.  So I thought – why not try something new?

I never thought I’d be so excited about a recipe containing celery.

I came up with this Roasted Celery Puree and it’s delicious!  The best part?
7 ingredients. That’s it.  This could not have been easier.  A small bowl is perfect as a dinner side, or a large serving is filling enough for a main meal.  QAG even liked this, which was surprising to me.  He said it had a very robust flavor.

I studied abroad in Madrid during college and my host mom Trini made the best vegetable purees.  I have a feeling hers may have been full of cream which made them so delicious.  My trick for adding creaminess to purees?  A can of white beans. Works like a charm.

Roasted Celery Puree (Makes 5-6 servings)
1 bunch of celery (about 10 stalks); washed and chopped
1 white onion; peeled and chopped
1 15 oz can butter beans; rinsed and drained
3 cups broth
Seasoning of your choice (I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute)
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar

Process
1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2.  Spray a pan with non-stick spray and put celery and onion on the pan.
3.  Sprinkle with seasoning of your choice until everything is coated to your taste.
4.  Drizzle with a very small amount of olive oil (just a trace!) and balsamic vinegar (enough to coat)
5.  Roast the vegetables for 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft and have a bit of brown to them.
6.  Add the veggies, broth, beans to a blender and blend until well pureed.  This will take about 5-10 minutes.
7.  Enjoy!

This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days and gets better with time.  I tried using my stick blender but the celery was too rough for the stick blender.  Be sure to leave an air vent in your blender top since you’ll be working with hot food.  The blender is the way to go so you avoid celery strings! I used butter beans because that’s what I had in the cupboard.  Any white bean could be used.

Do you have a good puree recipe to share? (Links welcome)  What’s for dinner tonight?

There’s still time to enter the iPad case giveaway.  I’ll announce the winner tomorrow AM.  Thank you for the entires.