O&B Café Grill at Bayview Village

When restaurateur Peter Oliver and chef Michael Bonacini teamed up in 1993, little did they know that almost 20 years later they would be running seven restaurants with more on the way. South African-born Oliver and Welsh native Bonacini, first opened Jump Cafe & Bar, and quickly became a unique and successful player on the Toronto restaurant scene. Other notable restaurants followed, including Auberge du Pommier, Canoe, Biff's, Bannock, and Luma. The latest in the O&B chain is Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill, a new wave of upscale casual eateries that now stretch from Toronto's Bayview Village to the Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood.

Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill open kitchen and homemade preserves

O&B's impressive Wine Rack features over 50 varieties of wine 

including red, white, Prosecco and Champagne

Located in the heart of Bayview Village, Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill is a bright modern dining room detailed with washed tin ceilings, leather banquettes and distinctive light fixtures. At the culinary helm of O&B's Bayview outpost since 2008, is Chef de Cuisine Steven Kwon. After attending Vancouver's Culinary Arts Program, Kwon immediately joined Bacchus Restaurant at the Wedgewood Hotel in Vancouver under Executive Chef Frank Dodd and with Chef Lorenzo Losetos’ brigade at George Restaurant in Toronto before joining the O&B team. With a broad menu that offers something for everyone, popular O&B favourites include B.C. Albacore Tuna Tataki, light and crispy Fish & Chips, Lamb Shepherd’s Pie, Pan-Seared Ontario Pickerel, O&B’s legendary Macaroni and Cheese as well as their absolutely delicious butter-and-cream-free Mushroom Soup.

Chef de Cuisine, Steven Kwon 

O&B Mushroom Soup with no cream or butter

Mediterranean Spinach Salad with artichoke hearts, fire-roasted red peppers, chickpeas and sherry dressing

B.C. Albacore Tuna Tataki with asian pear, avocado, daikon, tomato & watermelon 

with yuzu, ginger & wasabi dressing

Fish & Chips with two pieces of haddock, Yukon Gold fries, creamy coleslaw & tartar sauce

AAA Canadian Cheeseburger with Canadian Swiss, green lettuce, red onion, vine tomato, dill pickle, roasted garlic mayo and pain au lait bun

Japanese Chicken Caesar Salad made with teriyaki-glazed chicken breast, edamame, 

pickled ginger, cashews, roasted shiitake and wasabi peas in a sesame & miso Caesar dressing

Q-water is a unique filtration system that filters tap water which then dispenses 

Still and Sparkling Q-water into glass decanters, eliminating inventory and recycling 

Oliver's Famous Carrot Cake with walnuts and pineapple sour cream gelato

A Macchiato and biscotti to finish

www.oliverbonacini.com

Mac & Cheese
Serves 4-6
Recipe courtesy of Oliver & Bonacini

Sauce:
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup onion, sliced
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp white pepper
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 cups 35% cream
3 cups 1% milk
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chicken stock

Mac and Cheese:
8 cups macaroni noodles, cooked
1/4 cup cheese curds
1/4 cup grated cheese
1/3 cup peas, cooked
1 tbsp Goldfish cracker crumbs


In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, bay leaf, nutmeg, salt and pepper, and sweat until completely cooked. Then add the flour and cook the roux. Slowly add the cream, while working the roux. Add all of the cream and milk, then add the chicken stock. Add the Dijon mustard and continue stirring constantly until all the flour is well cooked out. Whisk in the Parmesan and cook out until the sauce is completely smooth. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Add cooked macaroni noodles, cooked peas, cheese curds, and grated cheese to the sauce. Sprinkle Goldfish crumbs and broil until bubbling and golden brown. Serve immediately sprinkled a few extra cheese curds.

Torta Pasqualina: Traditional Italian Easter Pie

Torta Pasqualina, or Italian Easter Pie, is a traditional Ligurian recipe made each year to celebrate the Easter holiday. It was traditionally made with 33 layers of dough — ten on the bottom and 23 on the top — to symbolize the 33 years of Christ's life. Light yet quite filling, this savoury dish is filled with spinach, dandelion or Swiss chard, and mixed with eggs, cheese and herbs. Consumed since ancient times, eggs are one of the foods most commonly associated with the Christian Easter tradition, having always been known as a symbol of life and the resurrection. In the Middle Ages during the period of Lent, eggs were boiled, decorated during the Holy Week and consumed on Easter Day, after having been blessed in church the day before. Over time, another tradition was born, that of donating excess eggs to the poor and children — a tradition which still exists today in the form of giving chocolate eggs to children. 



Torta Pasqualina
Serves 6
Recipe courtesy Gennaro Contaldo

For the torta:
1 oz butter, for greasing
2 tbsp plain flour, for dusting
5 large eggs, plus 1 beaten for brushing
7 oz spinach
4 oz dandelion leaves 
1 tbsp chopped fresh marjoram
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 lb ricotta cheese
2 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
4 oz provolone cheese, cut into small cubes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lb ready-made puff pastry

For the salad:
10 oz fresh or frozen broad beans, as shelled weight
5 small celery stalks, finely chopped into matchsticks 1-inch long
1 large handful arugula
12 mint leaves, roughly torn
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 small lemon, juice only
4 oz pecorino cheese, shaved


Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 11-inch round deep pie dish with butter and dust with flour. For the torta, place five of the eggs into a pan of boiling water and boil for 10 minutes, then drain and place into cold water. Once cool, remove the shells and cut the eggs in half lengthways.

Wash the spinach and dandelion leaves and shake to remove the excess water.
Heat a large pan with a lid until hot, and add the spinach and dandelion leaves and cover, cooking for 4-5 minutes, until steamed and wilted down. Drain the spinach and dandelions, and once cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess liquid. Roughly chop the leafy mixture and place into a bowl. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add the olive oil and onion, frying gently for a few minutes until softened, then set aside and allow to cool. Add the cooked onion to the spinach and dandelion and mix well. Then add the ricotta and parmesan, mixing well to combine. Finally, add the provolone cheese, dill, marjoram, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and mix well.

Roll out half of the puff pastry to 1/4-inch thick and use to line the prepared pie dish. Fill the pie case with half of the spinach and cheese mixture. Add the boiled egg halves, yolks down, evenly spaced, then top with the remaining spinach mixture. Brush the edge of the pastry with a little beaten egg, then roll out the remaining puff pastry to the same thickness as the first sheet, and place over the pie filling, pressing down the edges well. Trim away any excess pastry and crimp the edges with your fingers, so that the pie is well sealed.

Make a small incision the shape of a cross into the centre of the pastry top to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush the top of the pastry with beaten egg, then transfer to the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes, or until risen and golden-brown all over. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

For the salad, boil the broad beans for one minute, then drain and refresh in cold water. In a large clean bowl, place the celery, rocket and mint. Add the cooled broad beans and mix well. Place the olive oil and lemon juice into a small clean bowl and whisk until it starts to thicken. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well. To serve, place a slice of the torta onto each plate and spoon some of the salad alongside. Drizzle everything with a little extra virgin olive oil and top with shavings of pecorino cheese.

Good Friday: Lingcod with Creamy Pea Purée

The beauty of fish and seafood is that you can enjoy these 'treasures of the sea' every day of the month without eating the same thing twice. Buttery lingcod is a delicious low-fat fish that has a deliciously mild, slightly sweet flavour with a firm, almost dense texture, that turns white when cooked. Typically found on the North American Pacific coast, especially in the coastal waters of British Columbia, Lingcod isn’t a cod at all — it's actually a member of the greenling family, but gets its name from the cod-like appearance of it’s meat. A versatile fish, Lingcod's firm, sweet flesh yields great flavour, whether baked, broiled, grilled or added to soups, stews and even fish tacos. This recipe for Sautéed Lingcod with Creamy Pea Purée was adapted from one featured in Fish: Recipes from the Sea, which first appeared in a 2012 issue of Saveur. The natural culinary marriage between white fish and fresh peas is pure magic, and this easy recipe makes the most of these sensational springtime flavours, and a perfect dish for Good Friday.

Lingcod coated with mustard seeds

Shallots are sautéed until soft then peas and water are added and cooked further

The mixture is reduced for about 10 minutes

Most of the pea mixture is puréed with cream, 

producing a fresh and flavourful crème du petits pois

A tablespoon of olive oil is warmed over medium-high heat

The lingcod is added to the pan and sautéed 4 minutes per side

After 8 minutes the lingcod is perfectly cooked with a moist and flakey centre

Sautéed Lingcod with a Creamy Pea Purée
Serves 2

3/4-pound Lingcod filet, cut into 2 pieces
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen, thawed peas
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup cream
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp roughly chopped dill and whole sprigs, to garnish


Sprinkle the lingcod evenly with mustard seeds and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, heat butter in a 10" skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the peas, 1 cup of water, salt and pepper, and cover partially with a lid. Cook until the mixture is reduced, about 10 minutes. Set the sauce aside and keep warm.

Purée 3/4 of the peas, cream, and salt and pepper in a food processor, then transfer to a small saucepan to keep warm over low heat. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cod and cook, turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Season with salt. To serve, divide the pea purée among 2 serving plates and top with the cod. Spoon over the shallot-pea sauce, sprinkle with chopped dill and garnish with some larger sprigs for show.

Buca on King: Chef Rob Gentile's Cucina Italiano

Few places encapsulate Toronto’s innovative new dining culture better than Buca Osteria & Enotecca, one of the most successful restaurants that's opened in recent years. Hidden away down a long alleyway at King and Portland in a former warehouse boiler room with exposed brick walls, dramatically soaring 30-foot ceilings and glowing industrial chandeliers, Buca's subterranean dining room feels like the city’s most exquisite warehouse. At the culinary helm, Executive Chef Rob Gentile and his team prepare some of the most original Italian cuisine in the city. And Gentile trained under the best, Mark McEwan at North 44, Bymark and One — but with Buca, he's gone back to the cooking of his nonna. Dishes are based on fresh market seasonal produce and change constantly, so Buca's menus are printed daily and date-stamped each morning. Always included are their house-cured meats, such as spicy calabrese style pork sausage, Prosciuttini, Salame Toscana and Salsicce Ciociare with house made preserves, plus a long list of fabulous Italian cheeses. 

Executive Chef Rob Gentile of Buca, Buca Bar and Buca Yorkville

Buca was a former warehouse boiler room with exposed brick walls, dramatically soaring 30-foot ceilings and glowing industrial chandeliers

Buca's subterranean dining room 

Bare honey-hued industrial lightbulbs enhance Buca's hip ambiance

Buca's hammered cutlery table setting with dish towel-style napkins

Buca 'Eska' carbonated spring water

A perfect start to the evening, a Hendricks Martini with slice of cucumber

We started with Martinis and a selection of Salumi di Buca along with an order of Deep Fried Carciofini Fritti and Chef Gentile's famous Nodini, warm bread knots tossed with olive oil, rosemary, garlic and sea salt. We followed with a bottle delicious Gavi to enjoy with our Spaghetti Pomodoro, Grilled Whole Branzino and Brasato Manzo, a slow cooked George McGee Farms steak with smooth artichoke parmigiano, brodo di lemon and wild spring greens. To finish, we shared two dolce — Mela al Forno and Torta di Sanguinaccio, a traditional southern Italian chocolate and pig's blood tart topped with fresh figs steeped in grappa and espresso topped with a satiny buffalo-milk crème anglaise and chopped candied almonds. Buca isn’t the place for a quiet romantic dinner, but if you’re looking for a delicious evening with big buzz and big bucks, Buca is the place to be.

Buca's sensational dinner menu with 3 pages of cucina Italiano

Buca's signature Nodini: warm bread knots, olive oil, rosemary, garlic and sea salt 

Gnocco Fritto: tuscan spiced crisp dumplings with pancetta

Salumi di Buca with Prosciuttini, Salame Toscana and Salsicce Ciociare with house made preserves

Carciofini Fritti

A superb bottle of Tenuta la Merchesa Gavi 2013 had great depth and character, 

a delicious wine with fish and light pastas

Spaghetti Pomodoro with ripe fall tomatoes, ottobratico olive oil, basil and fiore sardo

Grilled whole Branzino with bariole olives, preserved lemon and terre di san mauro olive oil

Brasato Manzo: Slow cooked George McGee Farms steak with smooth artichoke parmigiano, 

brodo di lemon and wild spring greens

Mela al Forno: Baked Apple Crostata

Torta di Sanguinaccio: a traditional southern Italian Chocolate and pig's blood tart with fresh figs steeped in grappa and espresso topped with a satiny buffalo-milk crème anglaise and chopped candied almonds 

Aquavite Ciliiege 

www.buca.ca

Buffalo Ricotta Stuffed Cannelloni
Serves 6
Recipe courtesy of Rob Gentile, BUCA

Tomato Sauce:
4 lb fresh Roma tomatoes
1 cup olive oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves
3 cups small basil leaves

Filling:
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp Spanish or white onion, chopped
10 oz fresh spinach
1 500 gram package buffalo’s milk ricotta 

Cannelloni:
6 sheets fresh pasta, cut into 18 pieces, 3 by 5 inches each
6 – 8 prosciutto slices, torn
2 handful basil leaves
Parmigiano-reggiano, for garnish


To prepare the sauce, slice an X in the bottom of each tomato, and blanch in a large pot of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes until the skin begins to peel, then immediately plunge into ice water. When cool, remove from water, peel and quarter. Chop coarsely in food processor.

Coat a large saucepan with olive oil and set over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 1 to 3 minutes until translucent, then add the tomatoes and simmer over medium-low for 1 hour until thickened. Add the basil for the last 30 minutes of cooking, then remove from heat. When cool enough to handle, push through a food mill then let cool completely.

To prepare filling, coat a medium frying pan with olive oil and heat over medium-low. Cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent, then add the spinach and cook until wilted. Remove the spinach-onion mixture from the heat and when cool, squeeze with paper towel until dry then finely chop. Whip the ricotta in stand mixer for 1 minute until fluffy. Stir in spinach mixture then spoon into a piping bag.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Pipe the spinach-cheese mixture into thick strips along the length of each pasta sheet, leaving 1/8-inch exposed at the edges. Lightly spray with water and roll up. Coat the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with sauce. Place the cannelloni seam-side down and spoon more sauce overtop. Cover any remaining sauce and set aside.

Cover and bake in centre of oven for 40 minutes until the pasta is cooked and the sauce has thickened. If needed, remove the foil for last 10 to 15 minutes of baking to thicken. Serve 2 or 3 cannelloni per plate and spoon any remaining sauce overtop. Top each serving with prosciutto, basil leaves and cheese.

Duck Bigoli
Serves 16
Recipe courtesy of Rob Gentile, BUCA

This is the way it’s done at Buca. The recipe for fresh pasta follows, but you can use dried.

Duck Ragu:
5 lb duck legs, skin removed
3 1/2 oz duck heart
3 1/2 oz duck liver
3 1/2 oz duck gizzard
7 oz diced onion
7 oz diced carrot
7 oz diced celery
53 oz canned whole tomatoes
3/4 piece of cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
5 cloves
10 peppercorns
2 cups white wine
Kosher salt, pepper, olive oil, to taste

Combine the cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves and peppercorns in a sachet. Set aside. Season duck legs with salt and pepper. In a rondeau pan, add olive oil and bring to high heat. Sear legs on both sides and remove from pan. Set aside. Sear duck offal, remove from pan. Set aside. Add the mirepoix to pan and sweat. Deglaze with white wine and reduce by half. Add seared duck legs, offal and sachet to the pan. Cover with 74-40 tomato filets, or canned tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover pot and braise in oven at 325°F for 3-4 hours or until the leg meat is falling off the bone. Cool the braise by submerging the pot into an ice bath. This will speed the cooling process. Once cooled, remove the duck legs from sauce and pull duck meat from the bones. Roughly chop the meat and set aside. Crush sauce with hands, added chopped duck back to the sauce and set aside for finishing.


Pasta Dough: 
1.1 lb semolina flour
1.1 lb all-purpose flour flour — Arva Mill, if you can get it
1 whole duck egg 

Combine all ingredients in a stand mixer outfitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix on speed 1 until well integrated. To shape, cut 1/4 lb blocks to be cranked through a Torchio hand press.


To Finish: 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 piece medium-sized fresh garlic
1.1 lb duck ragu
1 lb fresh duck egg pasta
6 oz mascarpone cheese 
8 basil leaves 

In a large sauté pan, heat oil on medium heat along with garlic and gently toast garlic long enough to be infused in oil. Add duck ragu to sauté pan and bring to medium simmer. Drop pasta into a pot of seasoned, boiling water. While pasta is cooking (about 1-2 minutes for fresh; 8-10 minutes for dried), add the basil and mascarpone cheese to the sauce and mix until fully incorporated. Remove the garlic and discard. After pasta has been cooked to al dente, pull the pasta from water and add to the pan. Cook the pasta in the sauce for 1 minute and add a splash of hot water while adjusting the sauce consistency to your liking. Serve immediately with a garnish of baby basil leaves.

Smoked Salmon & Caviar Canapé with Crème Fraîche

Simple and elegant, these Smoked Salmon & Caviar Canapés with Crème Fraîche and Dill are a healthy and delicious hors d'oeuvre for any festive get together. The combination of flavours and textures are a perfect marriage — smokey, creamy and salty with a hint of dill — these little beauties can be prepped ahead of time and simply put together closer to when guests are to arrive.



Smoked Salmon & Caviar Canapé with Crème Fraîche
Makes 15 appetizers 

5 thick slices of brioche or good quality white or artisanal bread
4 oz smoked salmon
2 oz crème fraîche
1 oz black caviar
1 head Boston lettuce
Dill sprigs for garnish


Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lay the slices of bread on a chopping board and using a small round cookie cutter, stamp out as many small rounds as possible from each slice.  Place the bread on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake until golden and crispy, about 13-15 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire baking rack. To assemble, place some lettuce and a folded piece of smoked salmon on each of the crostini, followed by a small dollop of crème fraîche and 1/4 tsp of caviar. Garnish with a dill sprig and serve.