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Celery, Ragout of

A creamy celery stew with fried button onions and parsley.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Celery and parsley match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,810 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Celery, Ragout of

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the celery

  1. Wash and trim the celery, cutting each stick into 2-inch pieces.

  2. Cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and drain the water.

  3. Add the stock and chopped Spanish onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook gently for about 30 minutes.

Make the sauce

  1. Meanwhile, skin the button onions and fry them slowly in hot butter until tender, then drain and keep warm.

  2. Add the flour to the remaining butter and fry for a few minutes without browning.

  3. Remove the celery, then add the strained stock and milk to the roux, stirring until boiling.

  4. Season to taste, add the cream and parsley, and mix well.

Serve

  1. Arrange the celery in a circle on a hot dish, pour the sauce over it, and pile the fried onions in the center.

  2. Sprinkle the remaining parsley on top and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Celery + parsleytop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,810 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Celery + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together16,012 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  4. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Celery + oniontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,518 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Celery
Forms the main body of the dish and gives it its tender, fresh vegetable texture.
Flour
Thickens the butter and stock into a smooth sauce when cooked as a roux.
Butter
Carries flavour and enriches the sauce, and is used to fry the onions and make the roux.
Milk
Adds body and mild sweetness to the sauce, softening its savoury flavour.
White stock
Gives the celery and sauce their savoury base and liquid for the sauce.
Cream
Adds richness and a smooth, velvety finish to the sauce.

The step that matters

Adding the stock and milk to the roux. Flour must be cooked in fat without browning so it thickens well and tastes raw-free. Adding liquid too fast or without stirring can cause lumps, so stir constantly until the sauce boils and thickens smoothly.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (celery, milk, cream, parsley, butter, flour, pepper):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Leekfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against celery, milk, cream, parsley, butter, flour, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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