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Select nine or ten heads, neither too hard nor too soft, and cut them about four inches from the root. Remove the green and hard branches and trim the root, cutting the latter to a point. Scald the celery, after washing well, in salted boiling water. Ten minutes will be sufficient. Dip in cold water, open well the leaves and wash again carefully. Drain and make bunches of two or three heads each that you will put in a saucepan with a pint of broth or water and half a cup of good fat, onion and carrot chopped, salt and pepper. Cover and let it simmer for about two hour. Then remove the celery, drain and serve.

The celery, prepared as above, are seasoned with the following sauce: Make a roux melting a piece of butter and browning an equal weight of flour; stir for about three minutes on the fire, after which thin the roux with a little brown stock or with bouillon cubes diluted in water. Continue stirring and reduce the sauce. Then rub through a sieve, pour over the celery and serve very hot.