9 Marcella Hazan Recipes That Celebrate Italian Cooking
The cookbook author and Italian cuisine expert shares time-tested sauces, surprisingly simple mains, and a seasonal salad.
Legendary Italian cookery expert Marcella Hazan began contributing to Food & Wine in 1992. Former executive food editor Tina Ujlaki remembers that although technique mattered to Hazan, "taste trumped all." The late author of The Classic Italian Cook Book (1973) and Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (1992), shared recipes for Sicilian-style swordfish, a simple citrusy chicken, and classic Italian pasta sauces. "Cookbook author Marcella Hazan brought Italian cooking to American kitchens with singular style: simplicity combined with exactitude," wrote former Food & Wine editor in chief Dana Cowin. Here are Hazan's simplistic recipes that stand the test of time.
(Tegliata di Biete) Swiss Chard Torte with Raisins and Pine Nuts
Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Lauren McAnelly / Prop Styling by Joseph Wanek
This no-frills torte is packed with flavor with the mildly sweet Swiss chard paired with plump, fruity golden raisins for an unassuming, yet unexpected use of the leafy vegetable.
Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Dickey / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
A sweet yellow onion, a touch of fat from rich butter, and a low and slow cook time bring a simple can of tomatoes to their peak in this iconic sauce.
Roast Chicken with Lemons
This is simply chicken with two lemons. "No fat to cook with, no basting to do, no stuffing to prepare, no condiments except for salt and pepper," Hazan wrote. "After you put the chicken in the oven you turn it just once. The bird, with its two lemons, and the oven do all the rest."
Bolognese Meat Sauce
Ragù, as the Bolognese call their celebrated meat sauce, is characterized by mellow, gentle, comfort flavors. Hazan's classic ragù sauce recipe is pure, long-simmered comfort in a pot.
Tomato, Cucumber, and Onion Salad
Lightly salting the tomato wedges and letting them stand briefly concentrates their flavor significantly. Be sure to use a sweet onion to maintain the flavor balance in this refreshing salad.
Pasta with Abruzzi-Style Lamb Sauce
? CON POULOS
It's the deep, intense flavor of lamb that sets this sauce apart from other classic meat sauces. So does the fact that the meat is not ground, but cut into small pieces and cooked as you would a stew. This recipe calls for lamb shoulder, but you can use another cut as long as it's not too lean.
Swordfish Sicilian-Style
In 2018, Food & Wine named this recipe one of our 40 best. An oregano-infused sauce imparts bright flavor to hot-off-the-grill steaks. The secret to this quick-cooking swordfish is pricking holes in the fish so the lemony dressing seeps in.
Marinated Fish with Salmoriglio Sauce
? Yunhee Kim
This tangy, buttery salmoriglio sauce — a Sicilian classic — is spectacularly delicious with many kinds of fish, not just those specified here; buy what's freshest at the fish market. The baking and grilling times are approximate; the variety and thickness of the fillets will determine how long to cook the fish.
Fish in Crazy Water
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Who could ever resist trying a recipe with such a great name (which is a translation of the Italian, pesce all'acqua pazza). What is truly wild is how simple it is to make an intensely flavored, water-based poaching liquid for fish fillets. Marcella Hazan was introduced to the dish by her friend from Amalfi, Pierino Jovine, and her first reaction was, "Who wants to eat fish in water?" As it turns out, water is the magic liquid that reveals and melds all the flavors.
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