Celery leaf comes from leaf celery or smallage, a thin-stalked, intensely flavoured celery grown for its leaves and used in soffritto, Greek and Portuguese soups and Chinese stir-fries.
What it is¶
Celery leaf is the herb version of celery. The plant, Apium graveolens, has been bred in three directions: for thick, succulent stalks (stalk or table celery, var. dulce), for a swollen root (celeriac, var. rapaceum), and for leaves (leaf celery or cutting celery, var. secalinum). Leaf celery is close to the wild plant, smallage, with thin, hollow stalks and lots of glossy, parsley-like leaves, and it has a much stronger flavour than stalk celery.
In much of Europe and Asia this is the everyday celery. It is the selino of Greek markets, snijselderij in the Netherlands, and Chinese celery (qin cai) in Chinese cooking; Southeast Asian cooks know it as kintsai and daun seledri. Its small, ribbed fruits are the spice sold as celery seed.
The leaves of ordinary stalk celery, especially the pale inner ones, are the same thing in milder form, and are well worth using rather than throwing away.
Celery leaf is often confused with lovage, which looks and tastes similar. Lovage (Levisticum officinale) is a different genus: a large perennial with a stronger, more yeasty, curry-like flavour.
Origins and history¶
Wild celery grows in damp, often brackish places around the coasts of Europe, including Britain, and was gathered long before it was cultivated. The ancient Greeks called it selinon, and crowns of it were awarded at the Nemean and Isthmian Games, though scholars disagree over whether selinon meant celery or parsley in some contexts. The Romans used celery leaf and seed widely: the recipes attributed to Apicius call for apium in sauces, stuffings and purées. See spices in the ancient world.
For centuries, European "celery" meant the bitter, strongly flavoured smallage, used as a seasoning and medicinal plant. Italian and French gardeners developed milder, thick-stalked celery from the 16th and 17th centuries, and blanched stalk celery became a Victorian luxury in Britain. Leaf celery, closer to the old plant, remained the seasoning celery of southern and eastern Europe and of Asia.
Flavour and aroma¶
Celery leaf tastes like concentrated celery, sharper and more herbal than the stalk, with a green, peppery, slightly bitter edge and a warm, savoury depth. The characteristic celery aroma comes from phthalides, which also enhance the sense of savouriness in stocks and soups, one reason celery is part of so many flavour bases.
Chinese celery is especially pungent. Dried celery leaf keeps a good, if flatter, celery flavour.
In the kitchen¶
Use celery leaf as a robust soup and stew herb, or chopped raw in small amounts like a strong parsley.
- Soffritto. The Italian base of onion, carrot and celery, gently cooked in olive oil, often includes celery leaves as well as stalk, and in southern Italy leaf celery is the norm. The French mirepoix and the Cajun and Creole "holy trinity" of onion, celery and pepper follow the same principle. See italian cuisine and cajun and creole cuisine.
- Greek cooking. Selino is a staple of greek cuisine: in fasolada (white bean soup), in fish soups, in lentil dishes, and above all in hirino me selino, pork braised with celery and finished with egg and lemon (avgolemono). Allow a large bunch, 200–300 g, for four.
- Portuguese and Iberian soups. Leafy aipo goes into Portuguese vegetable soups, stocks and bean stews, often alongside coriander or parsley.
- Northern Europe. German Suppengrün (the bundle of leek, carrot, celeriac and parsley sold for stock) often includes celery leaves; Dutch pea soup (snert) is finished with chopped celery leaf.
- Chinese and Southeast Asian cooking. Chinese celery is stir-fried with beef, pork, squid or tofu, and added to dumpling fillings and soups. In Indonesia and Malaysia, chopped leaves garnish soto and other soups.
- Stock. A handful of celery leaves, or the top of a head of stalk celery, is one of the best cheap additions to any stock pot.
- Salads and salts. Pale inner leaves are good raw in salads and in a salsa verde. Dry leaves in a low oven and grind with sea salt for a home-made celery salt.
💡 Use the whole head
The dark outer leaves of stalk celery are strong and slightly bitter, perfect for stock; the pale inner leaves are tender and mild, good raw. Neither should be wasted.
Buying and storing¶
Leaf celery and Chinese celery are sold in Greek, Cypriot, Turkish, Chinese and Southeast Asian grocers. Choose bright, perky bunches with no yellowing. Wrap in damp kitchen paper in a bag in the fridge and use within a week. The leaves dry well at a low temperature and keep for months in an airtight jar; chopped leaves also freeze well for soups. See storing fresh herbs and drying herbs.
Substitutes¶
The leaves from stalk celery are the easiest substitute, used in a slightly larger quantity. Lovage has a similar but stronger flavour: use about half as much. Parsley with a pinch of crushed celery seed gets close in cooked dishes. A few thin slices of celery stalk or celeriac work in stocks.
Pairs well with¶
Pork, beef, chicken, fish and shellfish, beans and lentils, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, carrots, eggs and lemon, parsley, dill, coriander, bay leaf, thyme, garlic and black pepper.
Growing your own¶
Leaf celery is far easier to grow than stalk celery, which needs blanching and lots of water. It is a biennial, usually grown as an annual; in milder parts of the UK it often survives the winter and supplies leaves until it flowers in its second summer.
- Sowing. Sow under cover in March or April at 15–20 °C; the seed is tiny and needs light, so press it onto the surface of the compost. Germination can take two to three weeks. Plant out after the last frost, about 25–30 cm apart. It can also be sown direct outdoors in late spring.
- Position. Sun or part shade in moist, fertile soil. Keep it well watered; dry plants bolt early and become bitter.
- Harvesting. Cut outer stems and leaves as needed. It is a cut-and-come-again crop, regrowing several times.
- Seed. Leave a plant to flower in its second year and it will produce plenty of seed for sowing, or for the spice rack.
See annual and perennial herbs and harvesting herbs.
Health and safety¶
- Allergen. Celery is one of the 14 major allergens that must be declared on food labels in the UK and the EU. The rule covers all parts of the plant, including leaves, stalks, seeds and celeriac, and products such as celery salt. Celery allergy can be severe, including anaphylaxis, and it is particularly common in central Europe, where it is often linked with birch and mugwort pollen allergy (the so-called celery-mugwort-spice syndrome). See spice allergies.
- Skin and sunlight. Celery contains small amounts of furanocoumarins, which, like those in rue, can cause skin reactions in sunlight. This is mainly a problem for people handling large quantities of celery, especially plants infected with fungal rot, and not for ordinary cooks.
- Seed and supplements. Culinary amounts of celery seed are safe for most people, but concentrated celery seed extracts and oil are best avoided in pregnancy. See celery seed.