While the Amalfi Coast’s iconic Don Alfonso 1890 restaurant has earned its Michelin stars for refined cuisine and service, what many guests remember most from dining there is the warm reception they receive from the Iaccarino family, which has owned and operated the place since the 1970s. And it’s this sense of family that the Iaccarinos want to bring to their very first US restaurant, Casa Don Alfonso, when it opens at the new The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis in early 2021.
Envisioned as a casual version of the fine dining Italian location, the new restaurant will still feature an elegant décor and top-notch service, but its menu will focus on authentic Neapolitan classics and “real recipes of the grandmothers,” says restaurateur Mario Iaccarino. “Most of these are well-known dishes, but their recipes have likely changed over the years,” he explains. “We will present the real ones—the 100-percent original versions. These are the kinds of dishes I would eat when I went to my grandmother’s for Sunday lunch.”
Among those featured menu items will be things like fish Cartoccio, classic Naples-style baked goods, an “anti-aging” soup and Grandmother Ziti. Here, Iaccarino shares the recipe for that latter dish, a relatively simple pasta that showcases Italian ingredients and, with its flavors, transports you to the Sorrento coast.
Grandmother Ziti Recipe by Casa Don Alfonso
Ingredients:
½ lb dried Ziti pasta
¼ cup parsley plus garnish
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 anchovy filets in olive oil
1 teaspoon chili flakes
3 garlic cloves
20 cherry tomatoes, quartered
½ cup diced half-inch croutons
Sea salt
Method:
Drop ziti into boiling salted water and cook according to packaging (for about 7 minutes). Save some of the pasta water.
In a sauté pan, warm up the extra virgin olive oil, then add garlic cloves; cook until golden, then remove cloves from pan.
Add anchovies and melt filets, using a spoon, if needed. Away from the stove, add chili pepper, then continue melting the filets.
Add cherry tomatoes, salt (to taste) and some pasta water; cook for about 2 minutes to al dente.
Add the pasta into the sauce, along with the chopped parsley and bread crumbs.
Toss with a spoon to coat the pasta with the sauce.
Garnish with parsley leaves and a drizzle of olive oil, and serve.