Celebrity Chefs

Mario Batali Becomes Advocate For Meatless Monday

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In some parts of the world, Fridays are considered to be a “meatless” day. That is, some people do not eat pork, beef, or any other animal flesh (except for fish and other seafood). I think this is because Friday is traditionally believed to be the day that Jesus Christ died. I could be wrong about the reason, but in any case, I am sure about this: Iron Chef Mario Batali has joined a cause. The Meatless Monday cause.

What’s it about? The initiative is being carried out by The Monday Campaigns, together with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The main goal is to cut back on the consumption of meat by 15% by not consuming meat on Mondays.

Now why would they want to do that? The answer is simple: eating less meat can be good for your health. Eating less meat also contributes to the efforts to save the planet.

The idea is noble, and the implementation quite simple – theoretically. For meat lovers, it might not be as easy.

Anyhow, famed celebrity chef Mario Batali, who is known for his love of meat, has decided to join the cause. It might seem ironic at first, since he has this awesome way with all sorts of meat. However, the chef himself justifies his commitment to Meatless Mondays:

“The fact is, most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet, Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan isn’t a realistic or attainable goal. But we can focus on a more plant-based diet. That’s why I’m such a big believer in the Meatless Monday movement!”

So how’s the chef going to go about it? All of his restaurants – all 14 of them – will be serving at least two vegetarian options every Monday. Pretty cool, although it would have been more radical if he had decided not to serve meat at all on Mondays, right?

Mario Batali Heads Back To The Kitchen

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So where has he been all this time? Haven’t we seen him in the kitchen in the past several years? I know I have been watching him on TV cooking this whole time!

The matter of going back to the kitchen for Chef Mario Batali is as real as can be, though. He means actually cooking – for real – and not for a TV audience. As you may have heard from other chefs, TV cooking is not the same as actually making your own food in the kitchens of your restaurants. We’ve already heard so many critics lambasting celebrity chefs. They’re too busy cooking on air. They’re too busy running their restaurant empires. They’re not in touch with the real chef in them.

Well, Batali is not content to do that anymore. He wants to go back to his roots and is undertaking a gigantic project. Some time this year, he is set to launch six new restaurants for Eataly. Nice name, huh? But not as nice as what Batali is supposed to be cooking up. Time reports:

There will be a meat restaurant, a fish one, a pasta and pizza operation, a vegetable restaurant, a panino bar and a brewery-gastropub on the roof deck. It’s a giant undertaking, but Batali is a force of nature. He is creating all of the restaurants himself, after having spent years away from cooking. Whether he can pull it off remains to be seen. But he’s psyched to be even trying.

Well I am psyched for him, my favorite American Iron Chef!

Bolognese ala Batali

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TV chef Mario Batali shares this excellent bolognese recipe. It originally appeared in the magazine, Bon Appetit.

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
6 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb ground veal
1 lb ground pork
4 ounces pancetta or bacon, finely chopped
2 (14.5 ounce) cans whole tomatoes, in juice
1 (14.5 ounce) can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup whole milk
5 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or
2 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
12 ounces fettuccine
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions
Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions, celery and garlic an saute until vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Increase heat to high; add veal, pork, pancetta or bacon and saute until meat is brown, breaking up meat with the back of a fork, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, milk and thyme. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour 15 minutes, breaking up tomatoes with the back of a spoon, adding more chicken broth if mixture is too thick and stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook fettuccine in large pot of boiling water just until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Add fettuccine to pot with ragu and toss to blend. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan.