This time I did a quick search on the internet. I learned that basically anything you can do with parsley you can substitute with celery leaves, or so it was claimed. One of the favorite ways recommended was to make a pesto. Leery, I thought I'd try to make it and ended up being quite pleased with the way it turned out. I first pulsed a mix of walnuts and mostly pine nuts, several cloves of garlic and a little salt into the food processor; then added the pale, inspid celery tops and leaves until a paste formed, added fresh ground pepper and a squirt of lemon juice; then drizzled in the virgin olive oil. No one had mentioned lemon juice; I just thought it might add a bright undertone. My pesto was a little thin, but I was surprised to find the celery flavor not that intense at all (it was mitigated a lot by the pine nuts, I think); it did retain some of celery's peppery-ness which I liked, and the lemon turned out to be a good choice. It's a different twist on the usual pesto and will probably be dynamite on pasta with chopped tomatoes and shreds of parmesan cheese or, of course, used as a dressing for pasta or chickpea salads, where you might already have celery as an ingredient.
It's funny where internet searches can take you. I almost got off track with this story about a man who fancied himself a cook but was brought to his knees by a recipe instructing fried celery leaves. Although more appropriate for winter, it's still good fun to read. Check it out: Chowderhead: The New York Times recipe that unmanned me, and also turned me into a man.
