Marcella Hazan changed the way Americans thought of Italian cooking. She opened American's eyes to sophistication and subtleness of Northern Italian cuisine with her cookbook.Now there';s a new documentary out about her that;s enchanting a new generation of chefs.
Regular contributar and restaurant critic Pete Wells, wrote about Ms Hazan , her influence and her documentary in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday Food section.Mr Wells saw Marcella back in Aprim where it was down at the Smithsonian Institute where some of her cooking implements are. .On display outside the theater was here square cornered lasagna pan, her garganelli comb used to make the traditional lines in garganelli pasta. her linen apron painted with grapevines and her risotto spoon. (Julia Child who was influenced by her has her entire kitchen reconstructed in the museum's basement) > So many people were influenced by her work. She introduced Americans to a rethought Italian cuisine, one that explored different regions in both the North and south of the republic , and showed home chefs how to use the ingredients these regions were famous for. Before her, most Americans lived on the cuisine that people from Calabria , Campania and Sicily .Most fled the brutal and feudal tenant farms bringing with them recipes that relied heavily on sauces and pastas/Some immigrants were tradespeople bringing their businesses of selling olive oil and sausages to America.
Yet there was another cuisine - the more varied cuisine of Northern and Central Italy. .Both Marcella and her husband were from Emilia Romagna The Hazans were Sephardic Jews with a thriving fun industry when they left Italy - not because of poverty but because of rising Fascism.Ms. Hazan herself had two degrees in biology from the University of Padua and the University of Bologna. She taught herself how to cook in order to feed her energetic and hungry husband. She used the flavors and ingredients she was familiar with. As Americans embraced ultra sophisticated Italian films , cars and fashion so did they embraced ultra sophisticated food. She told home chefs to cook vegetables in cold water for half an hour to remove grit. They should be cooked until tender but not mushy. She introduced Americans to balsamic vinegar, a move she later regretted because everyone from chefs to home chefs overused it.Foods didn't;t have to be fried in olive oil. She recommended the Northern Italian way of using butter with the American invention vegetable oil for a lighter taste. She showed a country what Italian food had always been - art.
Marcella Hazan may be gone but her influence lives on . Restaurants and home kitchens have her to thank for bringing in the subtle sophistication of true Italian cooking. That is a legacy that should always be treasured.
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