Celery-cashew Ragout!

Hello world! It's a beautiful day in New England, and my herb garden is surely soaking up the sun. I've taken to spending some time with my herbs and a cup of coffee each morning, and even lighting a stick of incense or two out on the deck. I'm sure my herbs like to smell nice as much as I do. I've come to look forward to these peaceful moments as some of the loveliest of each day, the act of cultivating these young seedlings into more full fledged plants has been an exercise in the appreciation of patience.

As many of you are well aware, Mother's Day was this past Sunday, a day for the purchasing of greeting cards, chocolates, a day for Brunching, a day essentially created for the financial gain of a privileged few who tirelessly peddle this stuff to us throughout the year. But more importantly, a reminder to let our loved ones know we care about them one day a year, so we don't have to be bothered with it when it's really important. Let it be said, I am not big on "Hallmark Holidays.". That said, I did make a lovely dinner for those adventurous enough to try it. Celery-cashew ragout, served over polenta squares (which I made using the same recipe as last weeks "polenta pizzas.")

This one was made with relative ease, which is especially nice as my corner of the world warms, and I become less and less inclined to stand over a hot oven. A little bit is also quite filling, another p,us for those of us who have portion control issues, though it is of little comfort to those who just have control issues in general. Sorry guys, you know who you are.

The recipe comes from Rose Elliot's epic tome, New Complete Vegetarian, which is just insanely crammed with delicious deliciousness. It's scope is frankly broad enough to compare to Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," but I must caution the hardcore vegans out there, it is by no means a vegan cookbook. Recipes frequently include the use of dairy products and eggs. This isn't a discouragement against picking up a copy, just a forewarning that you may need to do some creative editing and/or modifications to suit the gravity of your personal orbit.

Here's the biz:

1 onion, chopped insidiously
1 bay leaf
1/2 stick butter (I use a vegan equivalent, but do not judge.)
1 head of celery, chopped and boiled until tender
1 tbsp flour
24 oz tomato purée (I am going to digress here, as often I do, to mention that one thing. Elliot frequently switches from measurements of volume to measurements of weight. I don't keep a scale in my kitchen, so I end up guessing when she suddenly switches from cups to ounces, for example.)
Juice and rind of 1 1/2 lemons
6 oz cashew nuts, grated
1 tbsp parsley
1 pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Elliot suggests hot toast or crostini, I chose to make polenta squares and make this more of a meal.

Sauté the onion with bay leaf, in the butter,or "butter" with the lid on, until translucent. Elliot frequently makes a point of emphasizing the words "tender but not browned." Do with that information what you will, but know that in my mind, there is no real limit to which one may subdue an onion.

Drain your celery, which, if you were smart,you chopped before you boiled and add it to the mix. Add your flour and tomato purée, let thicken, and add the remaining ingredients. I would give them a little happy hour to mingle and get to know one another before introducing them to the polenta and/or your dinner guests. Not an actual hour, but another 5 minutes or so.

This was delicious spooned over the polenta with a parsley garnish and some lime wedges for a little splash of springy color. :-)



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Location:Madison, Ct