Serving ethereal wood-fired pizza and sensational homemade pasta, Chef Rob Rossi's acclaimed Giulietta on College Street is a transformation of his restaurant Bestellen, which previously occupied Giulietta’s long, narrow dining room in Little Italy. With the help of design firm Guido Costantino, they redesigned the dark space and found the perfect marriage between elegance and simplicity, just as Rossi has with his menu. Grey Italian wool walls and terrazzo floors frame the interior, while a candlelit amaro cart invites guests in for an aperitif, such as a Giulietta Spritz, made with orange peel scented gin from Quaglia, or the mightly wine list driven by beverage director and sommelier Toni Weber. The wine list is Old World-heavy, with emphasis placed on affordable bottles. “We wanted to make it easy for people to have a bottle on the table and not feel priced out of the list – really embracing that Italian hospitality.”
Giulietta’s menu stands in stark contrast to the beefy offerings at Bestellen. “It’s very light on the meat side, on the protein side, and focuses a little more on vegetables and on sharing,” Rossi says. “There’s a lot of small plates. We envisioned it to be like a family-style menu, where everyone’s putting plates everywhere and can just go at it. Obviously the pastas and pizzas are a big part of the menu – you can’t have an Italian restaurant without them.” The menu is inspired and features sweet sausage-wrapped Castelvetrano olives, breaded, deep-fried and dusted with pecorino, are a taste of Ascoli-Piceno's celebrated snack from Italy's Marche region, and the Grilled Moroccan Octopus with cannellini beans and salmorglio is a dish after my own heart.
In fact, incorporating exceptional, seasonal ingredients into his menu is first and foremost for Rossi. He sources his capon for his Saltimbocca di Cappone from Ferme des Voltigeurs in Québec, brings kampot peppercorns for his cacio e pepe from Cambodia, while his octopus served with heritage cannellini beans is shipped in from Morocco three times a week, fives crates at a time. Even the pizza dough has been taken to an ethereal level, made using a combination of special flour and yeast, and left to proof for at least 5 days, the dough becomes lighter than air. With his father having grown up in Molise, Rob goes back to Italy often and is where he feels most at home. The inspiration for many of the dishes at Giulietta come from this place in his heart that drives the culinary direction of what is most certainly, one of the most authentic Italian experiences in Toronto.
The Giulietta Spritz cocktail made with Bèrto Aperitivo, Prosecco and soda, flanked with a vintage saucer from Alitalia’s first-class section to the garnishes
Vodka Martini with two olives
Giulietta's wood-fired oven
Pizza la Campagnola with wood roasted mushrooms, ricotta, fior di latte, sage and black pepper
Giulietta's sensational is Pizza made using a combination of special flour and yeast, and left to proof for at least 5 days, for dough that becomes lighter than air
Fritti Romani: fried fior di latte, sage, anchovy and lemon
Insalata di Treviso: endive and Treviso lettuce with date-anchovy vinaigrette,
walnuts and ricotta salata
Insalata Verde: bibb lettuce, parmigiano reggiano, lemon vinaigrette and fresh herbs
Salsiccia d'Agnello: lemon and oregano lamb sausage with citrus braised fennel
Polpo e Fagioli: grilled octopus with cannellini beans and salsa verde
Vino Lauria Frappato "Scoglitti" 2016 from Sicily
Tonnarelli Cacio e Pepe: traditional long roman pasta, kampot black pepper and pecorino
Girasole Ravioli made with smoked ricotta, spring peas and pecorino romano
Reginette Pappardelle made with slow cooked oxtail ragu, pangrattato,
parsley and parmigiano reggiano
Braciola do Maiale: heritage pork chop with toasted fennel and apricot mostarda
Carote Arrostite: heirloom carrots with aged vinegar, fresh laurel and lemon
Gianduja Torta with salted caramel, hazelnuts and gianduja cremeux
Bonèt Piemontese: italian custard infused with amaretto, coffee and vanilla
Red Fife Tiramisu: red fife 'spagna’, custard, espresso and dark chocolate
Torta della Nonna: wildflower honey and pine nut tart with mascarpone cream
Roasted Bone Marrow with Ox Tail, Parsley Salad and Toasted Brioche
Serves 4
Recipe courtesy of chef Rob Rossi
Braised Ox Tail:
5 tbsp olive oil
3 lb oxtail
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup red wine
8 cup veal stock
1/4 cup Port
1/4 cup Madeira
1 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
Brioche:
4 tbsp hot water
2 tbsp dry active yeast
2/3 cup pastry flour, sifted
2 cup all purpose flour, sifted, plus extra flour for dusting
2 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
7 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes and cold, plus 2 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tbsp 35% cream
Roasted Bone Marrow:
2 5-inch long veal or beef bones, cut in half length-wise, cleaned
salt and pepper
Parsley Salad:
1/2 bunch parsley, leaves picked
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Garnish:
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup chives, cut in 1 pieces
Brioche, cut in 1-inch thick slices, toasted
Braised Ox Tail:
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a Le Creuset braiser with a lid over medium-high heat. Season the ox tail on all sides, place in pan and sear on all sides until golden, approximately 8 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside. Heat remaining oil to the same pot. Add onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf. Sauté vegetables until caramelized, approximately 5 minutes. Deglaze with red wine, place ox tails back in pot, add veal stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and place in oven until oxtail is tender, approximately 3-4 hours.
Remove ox tail from pot and set aside to cool. Shred meat and set aside. Strain liquid into small pot, bring to a simmer. Add Port, Madeira, season with salt and pepper. Reduce liquid by ½ to a glaze consistency. Approximately 45 minutes. Whisk in butter. Add reserved shredded ox tail to reduced sauce. Mix to incorporate and set aside for assembly.
Brioche:
Place water in a small bowl, add yeast and stir. Set aside in a warm place until yeast is activated, approximately 10 minutes. Place flours, salt and sugar in a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add 6 eggs and mix on low speed for 1 minute until combined. Slowly add yeast and water mixture to stand mixer. Mix until dough comes together, approximately 5 minutes. Scrape dough from sides of mixing bowl. Mix an additional 5 minutes. Add ¼ cup of butter, mix until incorporated, approximately 1-2 minutes. Continue to add butter gradually for 15 minutes. Remove dough from stand mixer, place in a flour dusted mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place until dough doubles in size, approximately 3 hours.
Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured work surface. Knead dough for 1 minute by hand. Place dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for 12 hours. Grease muffin tins with softened butter. Remove dough from fridge and divide into 3oz balls. Place dough in greased muffin tins. Place in a warm area until dough rises ½ an inch above level of muffin tin, approximately 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk remaining egg with cream, for egg wash and brush on tops of dough in muffin tins. Place in oven to bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating tray until golden and baked. Remove Brioche from muffin tin and place on a cooling rack. Bottoms should sound hollow when tapped. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, cut Brioche in 1 inch thick slices horizontally and toast.
Roasted Bone Marrow:
Place bones in a large bowl filled with cold water. Soak for a minimum of 30 minutes, maximum of 24 hours in fridge, changing water occasionally. Preheat oven to 400°F. Dry bones, place on a tray and season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven until marrow is soft, approximately 15 minutes.
Parsley Salad:
Before serving, toss ingredients in a bowl and set aside for assembly.
Assembly:
Place 1/4 cup of Parsley Salad on one side of each plate. Place 1 piece of Roasted Bone Marrow on each plate on top of Parsley Salad. Spoon Braised Ox Tail over Roasted Bone Marrow. Garnish with lemon zest and chives. Place 3 slices of toasted Brioche on the side of plate and serve.
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