Joe McNamee: I’m finding a lot of reasons to make celery sexy again

Celery may not be on many people's radar when it comes to the best veg, but it should not be overlooked

Celery and chestnut mushrooms braising in chicken fat: an undoubted superfood: highly nutritious, rich in fibre, and low in calories. Picture: Joe McNamee

If I were asked to name my top five or even 10 vegetables, I’d never list celery. I don’t think it would even spring to mind for consideration. Yet I eat it two or three times a week, a primary building block in favourite dishes. With carrot and onion, it is the third element of a blessed flavour trinity in any stock.

That troika, diced into tiny pieces, is essential in the construction of a French mirepoix for sauces, soups and stews. In an Italian soffrito, they kick off ragu, minestrone, ribollita (Tuscan bread soup), certain risottos, spezzationo (stews), chicken cacciatore (slow-cooked in tomato sauce) and various tomato sauces. Slowly braised in butter or oil, the trio near dissolve away, adding aromatic nuance to rich flavours.