It’s sometimes hard to think of celery as anything more than a comedy vessel for cream or blue cheese in some kind of retro canapé. Yet's there’s so much to this deeply savoury kitchen staple that’s worth exploring.

It is one of those shy, retiring vegetables that really shines if you seek it out at its very best: it’s worth spending extra pennies on organic celery as the flavour will sing. Look for strong, crisp, juicy stems rather than anything floppy or turning brown. If you can find it at a farmers’ market, still muddy rather than wrapped in plastic, so much the better. Chopped straight into green salads, its leaves sprinkled over the top, it adds a wonderfully juicy bite. Raw, too, it is a must alongside a bloody mary, adding a cleansing crunch and bringing out the intensity of the tomato and vodka flavours .

In cooking from Mediterranean and northern climes, it most often forms a savoury base note for soups, stew and pasta; gently softened in combination with onion and carrot, it is called soffrito and is the beginning of almost anything Italian and saucy. While this mixture is generally small enough to melt away, becoming an invisible flavour, I would call for it to be given more headline space. For excellent chicken soup (the same goes for stews), try breaking it into three or four pieces instead of chopping (the same goes with large carrots) and serve along with the strips of chicken in the golden liquid — you’ll find them butter-soft and delicious.

Celery hearts will take to braising beautifully, a very English but not dissimilar feeling to braised fennel.

First simmer in salted water for ten minutes, then remove, trim and peel off the outer stringy bits. Gently fry a little chopped shallot in butter, return the celery to the pan, half cover with good chicken or vegetable stock and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Then simmer for half an hour, turning over from time to time and making sure that the pan doesn’t run dry. When tender, scatter with freshly ground black pepper and parsley, and serve with the juices. Excellent with pork, chicken or fish.

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