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SUPPER: Matzagna al Pesto at Il Portico
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SUPPER: Matzagna al Pesto at Il Portico
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| Photo l Michael Persico |
| Matzagna al Pesto for Passover |
Born in Rome and raised in Riverdale and Manhattan, Il Portico (1519 Walnut St.) chef/owner Al Delbello shrugs at the notion of "typical" seder dishes. "Typical depends on your background," the chef says over a plate of his matzagna al pesto, an airily layered take on lasagna he makes especially for Passover.
Il Portico, which will celebrate its 15th anniversary in September, was one of the first restaurants to colonize Philadelphia's Restaurant Row, as well as bring the cuisine of the Roman Jewish ghetto to the city. "Il Portico d'Ottavia was the walled Jewish ghetto," says Delbello. "This cuisine is over 2,000 years old. It is very different from Eastern European Jewish cuisine, from Sephardic cuisine."
Now appearing on Il Portico's menu, matzagna al pesto is a delicate combination of unleavened matzah squares (standing in for the usual flat lasagna noodles), béchamel sauce, basil pesto and ricotta cheese, garnished with pine nuts. The recipe comes down through Delbello's family, many of whom own and operate restaurants from New York to Hong Kong, Bali to Istanbul.
"The Jewish faith spread throughout the world," sayd Delbello. "So every culture has their own style of cuisine. It was the Jews who brought fennel, eggplants and artichokes to Italy in the first place."
Learn to make Il Portico's kosher for Passover matzagna al pesto, after the jump.
Matzagna Al Pesto (Matza Lasagna with Pesto Sauce)
Recipe courtesy Al Delbello, executive chef/owner, Il Portico
2 cups pesto sauce
8 egg matzot
2 cups ricotta sauce
1 cup milk
Coat the bottom of deep square baking dish slightly larger than the matza with pesto. Make alternate layers with uncooked matza and pesto sauce with dollops of ricotta sauce. Continue to make layers until you have exhausted all the ingredients. End with the ricotta sauce. Pour all the milk over the prepared matzagna, covered with aluminum foil, and bake in preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot or at room temp.
Serves 6-8
Salsa Di Ricotta Per Pesach (Passover Ricotta Sauce)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons Passover cake flour
1 1/2 cups hot milk
1 cup ricotta
Heat the butter and flour in a saucepan and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the milk all at once and cook another 2 minutes, and whisk. Add ricotta and simmer, stirring until ricotta is almost completely melted
Yields approx. 2 cups
[...] - SUPPER: Matzagna al Pesto at Il Portico [26mar10] [...]
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