Stuffed Celery + Celery Pesto

How many ways can you eat celery? A LOT as it turns out. Although I’ve always been a huge fan of celery (and use it as the base for some of my favorite salads) last week I learned that cooked celery, playing the starring role in main dishes like stuffed celery and celery pesto, is not only a good thing, it’s a great thing.

I’d known about the famous Sedano Nero of Trevi for a while now. Black Celery of Trevi is a specific variety of celery that only grows in the plains surrounding the town of Trevi, along the fertile banks of Clitunno river, in Umbria. The first thing I learned is that while it’s called ‘Black’ celery, it’s as green as any celery you’ve ever seen. The black refers to the color of the seeds. Regular celery seeds are brown, in case you were wondering.

What makes the celery different from other varieties is that it is more tender and has less strings. This is partly to do with the nature of the plant, but also the fact that they wrap up the bunches in  paper to blanch them, making the heart and inner stalks even sweeter. This means that they can be cooked up in to all sorts of dishes. Sedano Nero di Trevi used to be prized all over Italy for it’s intense flavor and tenderness but once new varieties were introduced after WWII, it fell out of favor. One of the reasons was that the stalks grow incredibly long, up to a meter (3 feet!) in length. This can be a bit unwieldy (see the awkward photo of me holding my bunch below) Luckily today Sedano Nero has been recognized as a prized heirloom variety and the yearly festival organized by the town of Trevi has made it a bit more well known. Still, it’s almost impossible to find it outside of this small area.

While I’ve visited Trevi dozens of times to go truffle hunting, the elusive celery has always remained just beyond reach since it’s only in season a few weeks a year. This year I was determined to attend the festival.

Well, you know how this year’s going. Not so festive. In fact, the usually bustling festival which takes over the main square of Trevi was basically just a few stands. But that didn’t stop me! I bought an armload of celery not quite knowing what I’d do with it, then headed to a local restaurant to eat my way through their celery menu.

Since the celery has less strings and is both sweeter and more intense tasting than normal celery, this means that they can be cooked up in to all sorts of dishes.

We started out simple, with pinzimonio, or crudite. Luckily the celery harvest always coincides with the first press of new olive oil, so we happily dipped our crispy stalks into bright green bowls of olive oil that has been pressed the day before.

This was by far the lightest dish we had. As it turns out the best way to enjoy celery – at least in Trevi – is with heaping quantities of cream and cheese, with sausage often thrown in for good measure. But hey, it was a rainy cold October day, and I’m telling you this kind of food was exactly what we were craving.

Trucioli al pesto di sedano e gorgonzola was a plate full of curly pasta covered in a creamy pesto of celery  blending with melty gorgonzola. We also had the Lasagna con Sedano, Salsiccia e Gorgonzola which was definitely up there with the best idea for lasagna I’ve ever eaten. Home made pasta was layered with sausage and gorgonzola with chunks of tender celery throughout.

Finally the main dish that we had actually come here for. All of the other dishes were welcome surprises, but the famous Sedano di Trevi Ripieno al Ragu was something I’d been dreaming about since I first heard about it a few years ago. This multi step recipe is a labor of love. The head of celery is trimmed, washed, boiled, dried, stuffed with sausage, tied up, coated in batter, fried, covered with ragu, and then put in the oven, cut in half, covered with more ragu and cheese and butter and then put back in the oven.

It was INSANE.

If this dish doesn’t convince you that celery needs to be in the center of the table I don’t know what will.

I’m going to try to recreate the stuffed celery recipe using normal celery soon, since I know that you can’t get your hands on Sedano Nero. Once I do I’ll make a video to show you how it’s done. In the meantime I’ll leave you with this recipe which is slightly easier to recreate at home, Celery Leaf Pesto. The trick is getting your hands on a fresh bunch of celery with the leaves still attached. In Trevi, during the festival, that’s not a problem. I hope you can find some in your local farmers market.

The Festa del Sedano Nero takes place in Trevi, Umbria the second and third weekend of October. There is usually a large market place in the town square, along with an outdoor restaurant that serves celery and sausage dishes. This year’s festa was much reduced, but most of the restaurants serve dishes featuring the celery.

Ristorante Maggiolini
Via S. Francesco 20
Trevi
+39.0742.381.534
Located right in historic center of town, this restaurant specializes in fish, including local trout. But they also have abundant truffle and celery dishes in season.

Terziere
Via Coste 1
Trevi
+39.0742.78359
This elegant restaurant is located in a small hotel just outside the city center. Gorgeous views and great food, including a special seasonal celery menu.

During our Week in Umbria Food Tour we always visit Trevi and taste their local specialties, including truffles and olive oil. If you’d like to join us for our upcoming trips in 2021 and 2022, we’d love to see you! Visit this page for our current schedule of tours, or else send me an email.