Memories of Mom In the Kitchen, Spring Produce, Provide Inspiration for Jonathan’s Easter Menu

For Roberto Ornato, the Italian-born owner of Jonathan’s Ristorante in Huntington, Easter stirs memories of his mother in the kitchen cooking brasato al Barolo, beef braised in Barolo wine, a classic, elegant Piedmontese dish.

“Easter for me is my mom cooking, going to church,” he said. ‘Easter is a time for happiness. It’s a big day.”

Those memories are reflected in his Easter dinner menu, which among various entrees includes agnello al Barolo -- lamb shank in a Barolo wine sauce, which he says with just the barest trace of an Italian accent “is a celebration of my mother.” 

Ornato, 54, who was born in Turin and raised in Rome, says those memories and the change of seasons have inspired much of the menu he will offer patrons on Easter Sunday. He said he expects to serve 150 diners on Easter Sunday, beginning at 3 p.m.

At Easter time, he said, “The weather is better in Rome.” And Easter for Romans is a time for eating. “It’s a lot like Thanksgiving over here,” he said. “It’s a happy holiday.”

Romans, he said, dined at home on Easter Sunday after attending mass. But the Easter holiday in Rome does not end on Sunday. Monday, known as Pasquetta, or Little Easter, is the day for an outing of family and friends to the country.

“Easter is a wonderful time of year in Italy,” he said, explaining that in springtime “a lot of wonderful things come up from the earth.” 

That shows up in the minestrone Genovese that starts his Easter menu. “It’s made with pesto,” he notes, explaining that basil, a key ingredient, is a spring herb.

Then there’s flavorful burrata, a fresh cheese from Italy’s Apulia region made from mozzarella and cream and served with artichoke salad.

Mushrooms and asparagus, also springtime foods, are key to his perfectly al dente risotto entrée, another Piedmontese dish. (See the attached recipe file).

One of the desserts, a seductive cappuccino/orange panna cotta, he says is indicative of the current Roman craze for the Italian dessert, which is made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, and gelatin. “Everyone makes it a different way,” he says, noting that the Easter dessert was developed by Jonathan’s chef Tito Onofre. “We try to give it a twist."

Ornato is offering two new wines for his customers to sip with their Easter meals. La Spinetta Toscana Vermentino 2009 is a crisp, fruity, easy drinking white sold by the glass, $12, or the bottle, $44. Then there is the Bruni Marteto Morellino di Scansano 2009, a red Tuscany that is a blend of sangiovese and merlot. ($10 a glass, $42 a bottle). It’s alive with cherry and plum flavors. “It’s a lot like Chianti, but bigger and fuller,” Ornato says.

A resident of the U.S. since 1983, when he came to New York to work in the promotion department of RCA Records, Ornato bought Jonathan’s 10 years ago with then-partner Nino Antuzzi (now owner of Osteria da Nino, Red and Sapsuckers) after losing his record company job and then working as a bartender in various eateries in Manhattan including Cipriani. He said he discovered Jonathan’s, which was for sale, while dining with his in-laws, who live in Dix Hills.  “Opening a restaurant is everyone’s dream,” he explained.

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For those who observe Passover, which begins at sundown on Monday, choosing a fine wine for the Seder table has become much easier--and more difficult.

Kosher winemaking has evolved so much that the market is awash in good wines, from every major winemaking region in the world and at many price points. And therein lies the problem. What to choose? There are hundreds of choices. You won’t go wrong with any of the popular names, Herzog, Yarden, Barkan, Carmel. Some up and coming names to consider, all Israeli, are Castel, Galil Mountain, Racanati, Benyamina,  Netofah,  Tzora and Yatir. 

I was especially impressed with a new line of wines from Pierre Miodownick, who has been responsible for an eclectic range of European kosher wines. Miodownick emigrated from his former home, Paris, to Israel, and now operates his own boutique winery, Netofah. He has produced an elegant, Rhone-like syrah-mourvedre red blend, Domaine Netofa 2008 —around $30, if you can find it. Even better, at around $40 is Domaine Latour Netofa, a similar blend with more oak.

Also worth seeking out are wines from Tzora, from the Judean Hills – the first kosher wines to be offered by Syosset-based Michael Skurnik Wines. The Neve Ilan Blanc 2009 is a Burgundian-style chardonnay, about $25. Also look for the Tzora cabernet-based reds: the rich, single vineyard Shoresh 2008, about $35, and the Judean Hills Red 2009, an easy to drink red with a touch of complexity, about $20.

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April 21 from 6 p.m. to closing will be Great South Bay Night at Canterbury Ales. A representative of the Bay Shore brewery will be on hand with three pale ales-- cask-conditioned Robert Moses Pale Ale, Massive IPA, and Hippocratic Oath Imperial IPA.