![\"celerysquidpj\"](\"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/celerysquidpj.jpg\")
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This may sound strange for some of you, but I was brought up knowing only celeriac, the humble and ugly cousin of the beautiful celery, which I must have discovered around the age of twenty. Contrary to what some people think, celery is unpopular in several European countries and its strong anise aroma is disturbing or even unbearable for those who discover it as adults.\u00a0Celery is widely available and consumed in my city and I am used to it simmered in soups, stews and other slowly cooked dishes (such as Rag\u00f9 alla bolognese<\/a>) where it ends up acting rather as seasoning than a distinct vegetable. I am however completely lost when it comes to keeping the celery crunchy or raw. On the other hand, I appreciate its fresh aroma, its pleasant crunchiness and its beautiful bright colour, hence my recent decision to start cooking it more often.<\/p>\n A couple of days ago, ready to prepare my beloved\u00a0Korean Squid with Cabbage and Carrot<\/a>, I\u00a0changed my mind at last moment and decided to use celery as the sole vegetable. Surprised by the excellent result of what I consider an extremely unusual combination, I have decided to share my discovery with you, even though I realise that my enthusiasm for celery will seem ridiculous to those for who this vegetable has been a boring staple for years.<\/p>\n My impressions of the squid and celery combination are difficult to describe. The first thing I have noticed was the unusual mixture of textures. The crunchy celery and the slightly chewy, soft squid were slightly surprising, but very pleasant. The celery’s anise aroma hasn’t shadowed the delicate squid taste and gave the whole dish a fresh, awakening touch. The hot and sweet sauce (based on gochujang, the famous Korean hot paste) not only supplied a red hue the whole meal cried for, but most of all bound the two completely different ingredients into a coherent whole. This improvised, quick meal was a very welcome touch of spring in the middle of rainy autumn days and has emboldened me to further experiments with celery. I will be grateful for any ideas or recipes \u00a0you would like to share with a beginning fan of celery.<\/p>\n If you don’t like celery, but the mention of squid makes you instantly hungry, I strongly recommend the above mentioned\u00a0Korean Squid with Cabbage and Carrot<\/a>, my staple and beloved way to serve squid. I must have prepared this stir-fried delight dozens of times since I discovered it on Hyosun’s blog<\/a>\u00a0and still am not tired of it. The sauce I have used with celery was inspired by this Korean recipe.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.withaglass.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/calamarp.png\" "\\"calamarp\\"")
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