Tomato Braised Celery With Olives Food

BRAISED CELERY HEARTS WITH TOMATO AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Leaving root ends intact, strip off outer branches, leaving about 2 pounds tender, leafy inner stalks. Cut into 8-inch lengths . Quarter lengthwise, place in large mixing bowl, toss with salt, set aside.
• Put oven racks in top position, preheat broiler. Place tomatoes in pie plate, drizzle with one tablespoon oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil, stirring occasionally, until surface moisture evaporates and tomatoes are charred, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, saute until soft and golden, stirring frequently, about 7 mintues. Transfer onions to shallow 3-quart gratin dish. Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in same skillet over medium heat. Place celery flat side down in a singer layer, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and sear without moving, until celery is golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes. Turn hearts with tongs and brown second side. Transfer celery to dish with onions, arrange snugly. Add 3 tablespoons more olive oil to skillet, brown remaining celery. Arrange in gratin dish. (Celery should be in a single layer.) Slide tomatoes over celery and onions. Add wine and stock to gratin dish, drizzle vegetables with remaining oil. Shake dish gently to settle vegetables. Position black olives in low spots so they don't dry out.
• Adjust oven racks to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set gratin dish over low flame and bring to a simmer. Taste liquid and season with salt, if necessary, or a pinch of sugar if acidic. Shake pan to distribute. Cover with foil, transfer to oven and bake until celery is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil, increase oven temperature to 475 degrees, bake until tips of vegetables are brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with julienned anchovy fillets and toasted breadcrumbs, if desired.

TOMATO-BRAISED CELERY WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a straight-sided skillet over medium. Add thinly sliced onion and anchovies. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in celery, tomatoes, chicken broth, and bay leaves.
• Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to oven. Cook, stirring once, 30 minutes. Stir in olives; return to oven and cook, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve.

MOROCCAN BRISKET WITH OLIVES, TOMATOES, ONIONS, AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• With a knife, pierce the skin of the brisket in 5 places and insert the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy skillet or roasting pan, add the meat, sear on all sides and remove.
• Add 2 more tablespoons of the oil to the same pan and saute 3/4 of the onions (about 6 cups) until they are limp. Add the turmeric, ginger, white pepper, bay leaves, celery, 1/3 of the diced tomatoes, and water to the pan. Stir-fry a minute or 2 and let cool.
• Place the brisket in a baking pan and surround with the cooked vegetables. Roast, covered, in the oven for 3 hours or until a fork goes in and out of the meat easily. Remove, cool and refrigerate, reserving the vegetables. You can prepare this a day ahead of time.
• Tomato-Onion Sauce: Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the frying pan; add the remaining onions and saute until onions are translucent. Then add the remaining diced tomatoes and simmer, covered, for a few minutes. Set aside or refrigerate overnight or until ready to serve the meat.
• When ready to serve, remove any fat that accumulated on the brisket as it cooled. Cut, against the grain, into slices about 1/4-inch thick. Return the slices to the baking pan along with the reserved vegetables in which the meat was cooked. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and reheat the brisket, covered, for about 30 minutes.
• Add to the tomato-onion mixture, olives, preserved lemons and 2 tablespoons each of parsley and cilantro and heat in small saucepan. Remove the brisket and some, or all, of the vegetables to a serving platter and serve, covered with the tomato-onion sauce and garnished with the remaining parsley and cilantro.
• Cut 7 of the lemons lengthwise, almost into quarters, leaving them intact at one end. You can also slice them thin.
• Using your fingers, stuff as much salt as possible inside the lemons, close them, and place in sterilized wide-mouth 2 quart jar. Squeeze the juice of at least 4 lemons into the jar. Allow to stand, half covered, at least 1 week on the counter, shaking the bottle each day, or until the peels sink with the weight of the salt in the jar. Then add a few more salted lemons, lemon juice, and, if you like, olive oil to cover.
• Close the jar and leave out on the counter for at least 3 weeks before using. When using the lemons, merely rinse with water, remove the seeds, and chop up for your recipes. Refrigerate after opening.

OXTAIL BRAISED WITH TOMATO AND CELERY (CODA ALLA VACCINARA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a deep, heavy casserole or pot that can fit all the oxtails in one layer, combine pancetta, carrot, onion and diced celery and enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan (about 3 tablespoons).
• Place pan over medium heat and cook until pancetta renders its fat, about 15 minutes. Season oxtails on all sides with salt and pepper, add to the casserole and brown well on all sides, turning them only after they've browned. Using tongs, remove oxtails from pan and place in a bowl. Set aside.
• Add the tomato paste to the vegetables in the casserole and cook, stirring, until paste caramelizes, about 2 minutes. Stir in wine and mix. Heat to boiling and cook 3 minutes. Add marjoram, cloves and cinnamon and then tomatoes, squishing them between your fingers as they fall into the pan.
• Return oxtails to pan. Liquid must be as high as one-third of the ingredients. If not, add a little water. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover pan and place in oven. Braise for 1 1/2 hours, turning the oxtails now and then.
• Add the remaining celery, then continue cooking until the meat is tender and falling off the bone, about 30 to 60 minutes longer.
• Remove the pan from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a large platter or in shallow bowls, making sure everyone gets a bit of the pulpy sauce and celery.

CELERY WITH TOMATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil on medium heat until shimmery.
• Add the onion, stir well to coat with oil, let cook while preparing the celery.
• Trim the celery ends, cut ribs in thirds lengthwise, then into two-inch lengths.
• Add the celery, stir well, then let cook undisturbed for 4 minutes. Stir, then pour in tomatoes, turn down the heat to medium low, cover and let cook until celery is tender, about 20 minutes.
• Uncover and stir in capers and olives and cook til warmed through and tomato juice cooks almost all the way down. Stir in basil.
• Season to taste.
• Serve immediately. Enjoy!

BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS AND THIGHS WITH TOMATOES, POTATOES, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Let the chicken come to room temperature, then pat the pieces dry and season with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow, flat container and dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off any excess. Set aside.
• In a large heavy-bottomed skillet or a Dutch oven designed for braising, heat the oil over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Add the butter, let it melt and heat until it begins to turn brown, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a large platter and set aside.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet and return the skillet to the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, until softened, about 1 minute. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, and cook until the wine has reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the stock and tomatoes and raise the heat to high and bring the liquid to a boil. The add the potatoes, olives, capers, and thyme, and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a boil again, then reduce the heat to low so the liquid is simmering, and return the chicken to the pan. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender and the potatoes can be easily pierced with a knife, 25 to 35 minutes.
• To serve, place one chicken leg and one thigh in each of four shallow bowls. Spoon the sauce on top, getting some of the tomatoes, potatoes, olives and capers in each portion. Serve immediately.
• Place the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, parsley and thyme in an 8-quart stockpot. Add enough water to come up to 2 inches from the top of the pot. Place the pot over high heat and bring the liquid to a lively simmer--do not let the liquid boil. As soon as the liquid starts to simmer, reduce the heat so that you maintain a lively simmer throughout. (This could be anywhere from low to medium heat depending on the strength of your range.) Skim off any gray scum that floats to the top of the stock. Cook the stock, uncovered, for about 2 1/2 hours -- it should reduce in volume by one-quarter to one-third. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl or clean stockpot, pressing on the solids in the strainer to extract all the liquid. If you like, season with salt to taste--I prefer to keep my stock salt-free.
• Use right away or transfer to air tight containers and refrigerate or freeze. The stock will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH CELERY

Steps:

• Cut the celery into 4cm lengths.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and add the celery, onion, garlic and carrots and cook stirring until the onions are soft; remove the veggies from the pan.
• Heat the other tablespoon of oil and add the lamb shanks and brown them well all over.
• Stir in the wine, paste, stock and thyme and simmer covered for 1 hour.
• Return the veggies to the pan and simmer covered for about 30 minutes until the shanks are really tender.

BRAISED FISH WITH FENNEL, TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine first 5 ingredients in metal baking pan. Season fish with salt and pepper; place atop vegetables. Cover with foil. Bake until fish is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Using spatula, transfer fish to plate; cover with foil and keep warm. Place baking pan with vegetables atop stovetop burner; bring to boil. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Mix in lemon juice, oil and 1 tablespoon basil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place one fish fillet on each of 4 plates. Top with vegetable mixture, dividing equally. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and olives.

BRAISED CELERY WITH LENTILS AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Heat ¼ cup oil in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high. Add celery and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until celery is very lightly browned, about 5 minutes, then add garlic and toss to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is deep golden brown and celery is tender and golden brown, 5-7 minutes. Mix in 1 tsp. kosher salt, then add wine and herbs (if using) and stir to combine. Cook until wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil; stir in lentils. Cook until lentils are warmed through and flavors have come together, about 5 minutes. Taste and season with more kosher salt if needed. Fish out herb sprigs if using and discard.
• Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium. Crack eggs into skillet and cover with a lid (or a baking sheet if you don't have one), reduce heat to low, and cook just until egg whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes.
• Divide braised celery mixture among bowls. Top each with an egg and some celery leaves; sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Serve with crusty bread, if desired.