Seeing less of Mario Batali
The celebrity chef will still be on TV - but now he's 35 to 40 pounds lighter.
You might have to sit down for this.
Chef Mario Batali, known for putting away 20 to 30 dishes and multiple bottles of wine in a single meal without needing much help from dining companions, now eats less than you do on some nights.
The celebrity chef whose motto was "wretched excess is just barely enough," said he was horrified at how fat he looked on television, and started eating better.
Batali is promoting his latest cookbook, Molto Gusto, with pizza, pasta, antipasti, salads, and gelato recipes. It also features lots of vegetable dishes, indicative of how the new Mario eats.
He is finalizing deals on two new cooking shows, one with him cooking in Sicily and the other in Brooklyn. And he is about to open Eataly in New York City, a 50,000-plus-square- foot food emporium.
Q: So I hear you've lost some weight.
A: Thirty-five to 40 pounds. I weigh about 235 now. I was big.
Q: What's a typical Mario eating day?
A: I eat half of whatever they put in front of me in restaurants. I eat a lot more vegetables. I exercise a lot more. I try not to eat after 9:30.
Q: Your appetite was legendary. Are those gluttony days over?
A: Eating as a pleasure is still a part of my life. Eating as a sport has faded away.
Q: This cookbook is different from your seven other cookbooks. Lots of veggie dishes, lots of 30-minute-or-less recipes.
A: This is how Italians eat on a weekday when they want to eat something that is delicious, healthy, and not so hard to make. . . . there is no fresh pasta recipe in the book. It is all dried pasta.
Q: What is the next big thing? The next pork belly?
A: The next big thing will be vegetables.
Q: Because of the eat-local mantra?
A: Exactly. I think the next big thing in people's mind is actually eating with a point of view, eating with an ideology. It is all the things that we should be thinking about but we never had to. . . . Now thinking maybe about spending a bit more for an heirloom varietal. Or a specific type of grown thing that is completely fertilizer-free. Or eating your meat that has no hormones or antibiotics.
Q: So I hear you pull $100,000 to appear at food festivals and events.
A: When a casino calls or a big-shot hotel calls, they offer the money and you say yes or no. . . . I think it's fabulous. I don't understand it. But I don't care. (He laughs.)
Black Kale with Ricotta
Serves 6
1 1/2 pounds of cavolo nero (also called lacinato or Tuscan kale) or regular kale
6 tablespoons virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, thickly sliced
1 red finger chile or serrano chile, thinly sliced
Maldon or other flaky sea salt
3/4 cup fresh ricotta
1. Trim kale, removing the tough stems and ribs, and coarsely chop it.
2. Combine 2 tablespoons of the oil, the garlic, and chile in a large pot, add the kale, and saute over medium-high heat for about five minutes, until it is beginning to wilt.
3. Season with salt, add 3/4 cup water, cover, and cook until the kale is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.
4. Meanwhile, put the ricotta in a small bowl and whisk in the remaining 1/4 cup oil. If necessary, whisk in up to 2 tablespoons of warm water to loosen the consistency.
5. Spread ricotta on a serving plate, spoon the kale over it, and serve.
- From Molto Gusto (HarperCollins)
Per serving: 235 calories, 7 grams protein, 13 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams sugar, 19 grams fat, 16 milligrams cholesterol, 75 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.