Braised and Gratinéed Celery Stalks w/Parmesan Cheese

I do not eat celery. There I said it.
I don't buy it, I don't cook it and I don't eat it.

When I was young, about 5-6, I would beg my mom to give me a raw celery stalk and she always said the same thing...."you never swallow it, you chew it for ever and ever, then I have to rescue you with a napkin so you can spit it out."

"No, mom, I will swallow it this time, I promise."
I never did.
I loved the taste but something about all those strings made it impossible for me to swallow, and that followed me into my adult life.

When I saw Lidia make a braised celery dish I have to admit I was curious. Yesterday I found myself in a situation to squelch that curiosity for good. I bought celery for a stuffing recipe I was testing. I only needed 2 stalks. Now what do I do with the rest of it?

I refuse to throw food out like a true Italian, so where did I go for inspiration? You guessed it.

I opened my Marcella Hazan cookbook and found not one but three recipes using braised celery.

Nutritional value: Diets based on celery have energizing and fortifying effects on the body due to the stimulation of the renal glands, reduction of the stress hormone and decreasing of the heart rate. But celery also has hypoglycemic properties, which means it can be used in treating sugary diabetes. I never knew it was that good for Diabetes.

Double incentive to make this recipe.

Despite the sequence of cooking procedure - this is not a very complicated dish to prepare. - Marcella Hazan

Braised and Gratinéed Celery Stalks with Parmesan Cheese
for 4 servings

* 1 large bunch celery
* 3 tablespoons onion, chopped fine
* 2 tablespoon butter
* 1/4 cup pancetta or bacon
* Salt
* Fresh black pepper
* 2 cups stock (beef or chicken)
* 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1. Cut off the celery's leafy tops and detach all the stalks from their base.

Save the hearts for a salad. Use a peeler to pare away most of the strings, and cut the stalks into 3" pieces.
2. Put the onion and butter in a saucepan and heat to medium. Cook and stir until translucent, then add the pancetta. Stir to coat well, for 1 minute and add the celery, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the broth, adjust the heat to a very gentle simmer, and cover the pan. Cook until the celery feels tender when prodded (mine was done when the fork went through them with no resistance, starting at around 15 minutes).
4. Remove the tender stalks to a platter, up the heat to high, and boil off all the liquid.
5. Arrange the stalks with the concave side facing up. Over the celery, spoon the onion/bacon mixture over the top, then the cheese. Place in the uppermost part of your oven and bake until the cheese melts and forms a light crust and the bacon is crunchy done.
6. Arrange on a platter and serve while still warm, or cover, refrigerate (up to 3 days) and reheat for about 5 minutes in the oven before serving.

Review: The Nudge told me to make this as one of my vegetable sides on Thanksgiving Day. Since I am trying to use the same aromatics, to cut down on the ingredient list and bacon appears a few times, this would work well.