Marcella Hazan is My Personal Rock Star

I love Marcella Hazan's recipes. She celebrates Italian cooking from the peasant's point of view, and since I've never been rich, the recipes resonate with me. They are so clearly written, and she so heartily welcomes any kind of innovation with what she is presenting that I keep coming back to her recipes like a supplicant to a guru, which she is. She is my personal guru, and what are gurus? They are rock stars. They dig deep, figure the world out from their point of view, present it in a unique and appealing way and inspire you with their discoveries. I will reference her quite a bit; starting now.

Celery Tomato Sauce


Ingredients

3 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 Cups of finely diced celery
1 20 oz. can of whole Italian plum tomatoes, chopped up with their juices
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

This is enough sauce to feed 4 to 6 people

Get out a skillet, sauce pan or pot big enough to comfortably hold about two quarts of food, put it on the stove and place the 3 Tbsp. butter and 1 Tbsp. olive oil in it.












Now you are ready to chop. Prepare a whole head of celery by cutting off the butt and the ends and washing each rib thoroughly under cold water. Dry the ribs off and cut them into about 6 inch pieces. Then, slice each 6 inch rib length wise into 1/4 inch strips. Then, gather a small bunch of strips and cut cross way into 1/4 cubes. Once you have three cups of chopped celery, take the left over 6 inch pieces, put them in a container in the fridge with a little water on the bottom for a snack later. Then, take the onion and cut it in half from top to bottom, take the outer skin off and cut 1/4 inch length wise slits in the onion being careful to keep the onion intact. Then, cut cross way 1/4 inch to make small cubes. I find this way easier and there is less crying involved because it works faster.



The next thing to do is to dump the onion in the pan, turn the heat to medium and cook the onions until they are translucent, shiny and golden brown.

Then you add the celery and cook that for about 5 minutes being careful to stir it about once a minute. After the celery has had a chance to soften up, add a 20 oz. can of whole plum Italian tomatoes.














Carefully stir the tomatoes around and break them up with your spoon. Once it starts to bubble, turn the heat to low and let it simmer, stirring occasionally until the fat separates from the sauce. I can tell when the fat separates by taking a look at the sauce and if it has a glossy sheen to it, it's done. The other method I use is to push a piece of tomato to the side of the pan and if it crushes very easily, then it's done. This usually takes about 40 minutes, but if you are in a hurry, turn the heat to medium-low and stir it more often; that should shorten the cooking time in half.







Marcella's recipe calls for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese at the end. You can use it if you want; I don't think the dish needs it. You can have it with any kind of pasta or what I like to do is make some toast, put it in a bowl and dump it over the top. Enjoy.