Answers to Go with Susan Smith

Q. I hate throwing away celery leaves after chopping the stalks for a recipe. What are my options for cooking with the leaves?

A. We have a book that could have been written for this cook: “Cooking with Scraps: Turn your Peels, Cores, Rinds, and Stems into Delicious Meals.”

Author Lindsay-Jean Hard writes: “Truth Time: Celery hearts and leaves really don’t deserve their reputation as scraps, for multiple reasons.

“Celery leaves make a garnish that’s both pretty and tasty. Both the leaves and the tender hearts are bursting with celery flavor, without any stringiness or intense crunchiness. Both are incredibly versatile. I add them to everything from sauces and salads to spreads and breads.”

This author includes two recipes: “Celery Leaf Aioli” and “Egg Salad Sandwiches with Celery Hearts and Leaves."

I found some helpful online sources with this Google search: cooking with celery leaves. Here are a few suggestions from www.All-Recipes.com: “The small, tender, innermost celery leaves are just the right size and texture to make a perfect garnish for deviled eggs. The darker leaves make a colorful, flavorful garnish for soups and stews.

“Any recipe for soup or stew that includes celery in the mix can certainly handle celery leaves, too. Chop up the stems and light or dark leaves to cook with the stalks.”

I also like these suggestions found at www.kitchn.com: “Use celery leaves as a fresh herb. Mince them finely or coarsely chop them to garnish any dish with bright, celery flavor. Make celery leaf pesto.

“Make a celery leaf and chickpea salad. Combine celery leaves, chopped celery and chickpeas with shaved red onion and sherry vinaigrette. Swap parsley for celery leaves in a classic tabbouleh with bulgur, tomato and cucumber.

“Add celery leaves to a stir-fry at the very end of cooking. Reserve a pinch of leaves to garnish the top."