1 gr
Cultivation: easy
Seed production: beginner
Sowing: February to April (Italy)
Sweet Celery from Montevarchi( Apium graveolens)
Sweet Celery from Montevarchi (Apium graveolens): traditional variety typical from Tuscany. It differs from the more popular celery because of its reduced size. The stalks are not too hard, which makes it tender and crunchy, it also has a particularly sweet taste that the other ones don't. It is harvested with no need for bleaching, but it can still be done by tying the plant tightly fifteen days before harvest. This celery does not tolerate low temperatures well, it is therefore important to consider the time of sowing and transplanting very well. It can take two months or a bit more from sowing to transplant.
In the kitchen, it holds the main role on lots of traditional recipes, one of which we will share in the next section.Here is a recipe found on the web and its link:
For 4 people:
- Two large celery stalks
- 1 egg
- About 50 g. of grated Parmesan cheese,
- Salt, pepper, nutmeg and oil for frying.
Coarsely chop the celery (also the leaves) and put the pieces to boil in a pot. Once boiled, wring them to remove as much water as possible, lay them down on a cutting board and finely chop them with a honeymoon knife. Wring out again if they still have water. Put the pieces in a bowl, add the egg, the grated Parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Mix everything well until you get a fairly compact dough. Shape into "meatballs" which you will coarse with flour before frying them in an iron pan with plenty of Tuscan olive oil. They are let to setmarinate a while on the "umido di nana" (duck's ragu)
"To die for". Alternatively, they can be eaten in sauce, or frying them in a frying pan along with one or two garlic cloves, then add tomato, basil, salt and pepper.
Taken from: https://www.acquaborra.it/blog/rocchini-di-sedano/