Marinated Celery

I recently read that celery contains negative calories – it takes more calories to digest stringy celery than the vegetable contains. I am not sure that you’d want to chomp through huge amounts of it in the hope of shedding a few kilos. However, celery certainly does have its attraction.

Half a bunch of celery
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice and a little zest from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup water
flaked salt
freshly milled pepper

Clean the celery and curt the wider ends of the stalks in half lengthwise. Slice the stalks diagonally into 3cm lengths – or you can cut the celery into batons. Place in a saucepan with the other ingredients. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat and drain into a bowl, reserving the cooking liquid. Continue cooking the liquid until it reduces by about half. Pour back over the celery and allow to cool adjusting the seasoning if necessary.