Prato-style stuffed celery recipe

Ingredients

• 8 large stalks of celery
• 1 onion, chopped
• 8 ounces ground veal
• 5 ounces chicken liver, chopped
• 3 eggs
• ¼ cup grated parmigiano
• Flour
• Vegetable oil
• Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cups Tuscan meat sauce

1. Trim off the fronds from the celery. Cook the stalks in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cut the celery into 3-inch long pieces and set aside.
2. In a skillet, warm 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion, the liver and the ground veal, and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.
3. Remove the skillet from the heat. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in 1 egg and the parmigiano. Distribute the mixture over half of the pieces of celery, and cover with the remaining pieces of celery. Tie the stuffed celery bundles with butcher’s string so that the filling remains inside during frying.
4. In a deep skillet, warm enough vegetable oil for frying. Dredge the celery bundles in flour, dip in the remaining egg (beaten with a pinch of salt), and carefully lower into the hot oil. Remove from the oil, and drain on paper towels.
5. In a saucepan, warm the Tuscan meat sauce. Add the fried celery bundles, and cook until the sauce is reduced. Remove the string from the bundles before serving.