Celery Leaf and Tuna Spice Keema, made with SN2

Celery leaves take the lead. The savour of tuna and the freshness of celery make a fine pairing.

SPICE CURRY SPICE PACK [Spice Curry Spice Pack Symphony No.2 / SN2] makes this Celery Leaf and Tuna Spice Keema.

Do you like celery? Plenty of people love that crisp bite and its distinctive scent and flavour. When we say celery, most of us picture the stalk as the main part.

This time, though, we use only the celery leaves, and they really do take the lead. In soups and the like, people often use only the stalks and throw away most of the leaves — keep them instead, and make this Celery Leaf and Tuna Spice Keema the next day. It is very good indeed.

Among celery’s nutrients, beta-carotene (vitamin A) is found in particular abundance in the leaves — twice as much as in the stalk. The leaves also carry more dietary fibre and more vitamins than the stalk.

One vitamin they hold plenty of is vitamin B1, which is often talked about in connection with recovery from tiredness. Vitamins C and E are commonly described as nutrients that help keep skin healthy and that act as antioxidants in the body.

And since the leaves hold more dietary fibre as well, if you want to take everything celery has to give, it is the leaves rather than the stalks you should be reaching for.

They can be a little tough for a salad, though, and not always pleasant to chew. Simmered, however, they eat beautifully, rather like a herb.

As the hidden note that joins the tuna and the celery together, we have used mayonnaise. It sounds good just thinking about it.

Here is the recipe.

When your spice curry turns out watery Are the whole spices in the starter bag meant to be eaten? Which spice do you add when you want more heat?

Ingredients (serves 4)

• SN2 / starter spices (the bag of whole spices): 1 bag
• SN2 / powder spices (the bag of ground spices): 1 bag
• Onion: 1
• Naganegi (Japanese leek): 1/2
• Celery leaves: as much as you like (for this recipe we added roughly two loosely heaped handfuls. Too few and they will not take the lead, but the amount is hard to predict from one bunch to the next, so we have written it as “as much as you like”.)
• Tomato purée: 1 pack (a shop-bought 100–150g pack)
• Garlic: 10g grated (roughly 1–2 cloves)
• Ginger: 10g grated
• Canned tuna: 70g (one standard can)
• Mayonnaise: 2 tsp
• Oyster sauce: 2 tsp (you can leave it out, but it adds depth)
• Sugar: 1 tsp
• Salt: 1 tsp
• Nam pla (Thai fish sauce): 2 tsp (soy sauce also works)
• Water: 200ml
• Oil: 3 tbsp (use whichever oil you prefer; for this recipe we suggest olive oil or white sesame oil)

Preparation

• Grate the garlic, then the ginger, in that order
• Finely chop the onion and naganegi
• Cut the celery leaves roughly into easy-to-eat pieces.

Method

1. Put the oil: 3 tbsp in a pan over low heat, and once the oil has warmed, add the starter spices (the bag of whole spices).
   
   
2. When you hear the mustard seeds (the small black ones) start to pop, add the grated garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds, stirring them through the spices.
   
   
3. Add the onion, stir it through, then turn the heat to high and cook for about 12 minutes until amber. Halfway through cooking the onion, add the naganegi and cook it alongside.
   
   
   
   

   How far you cook the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. “It came out watery”, “the tomato tastes too sharp”, “it lacks depth” — the single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has gone amber. For this recipe, cook it for a full 12 to 15 minutes and keep going until it is properly amber. The points are: keep the heat at medium to high spread the onion evenly across the pan and leave it, then stir; spread it evenly and leave it again, then stir — and repeat whenever you stir and feel something catching on the base of the pan, splash in a little water (in our experience, about 2 tbsp of water each time, roughly five times in all) Splashing in water carries the savour the onion releases through the whole pan and keeps it from catching while it turns amber. Letting it colour just enough to need a splash of water is, if anything, exactly what draws the flavour out. It takes a little time and attention, but it is the step that decides the result, so give it the care it needs.

   
   
   
4. Once the onion is amber, add the canned tuna and cook it in for about 1 minute.
   
   
5. Add all of the tomato purée, salt: 1 tsp, sugar: 1 tsp and powder spices, and cook them in, thinking of it as cooking the powder itself through.
   
   
6. Add the mayonnaise: 2 tsp, oyster sauce: 2 tsp (you can leave it out, but it adds depth) and nam pla: 2 tsp (soy sauce also works), cook until everything is settled together, then add the water: 200ml.
   
   
7. Once it comes to the boil, add the celery leaves and simmer for about 3 minutes.
   
   
8. Take it off the heat, adjust the salt and it is done.
   
   

Squeeze over lemon or add black pepper or any other topping you like.

For this recipe we scattered the softer part of the leaves over the top raw. It gives the dish a lift in texture, and we recommend it.

Inspice spice curry spice sets contain none of the chilli, cayenne or red pepper that usually carries the heat, so add as much as you like to suit your taste.