Spicy Cold Braised Celery

Step 1

Boil the celery in lightly salted water for 1 minute. Drain, cool under cold running water and set aside.

Step 2

Melt the butter in a large nonstick skillet and saute the scallions for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the broth, coriander seeds, celery seeds and chili-pepper flakes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the celery and lemon juice. Cover, reduce heat to very low and simmer until the celery is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. If more than 1 cup of broth remains, remove the celery and continue cooking until the broth has reduced. Recombine celery and broth in a flat container, add the salt and refrigerate, covered with tinfoil, for 1 hour.

Step 3

Chop 1/2 of the cilantro leaves with the celery leaves and add to the celery. Sprinkle the remaining cilantro on top and serve.