Some of Luciano Burriesci's earliest and most cherished memories are from his days spent as a child in the kitchen of his father Sal's restaurant. As a youngster, Burriesci and his brother, Stephen, would stand on upside-down tomato cans so they could reach the sink to help wash dishes. It was never something that they were asked to do, but something they wanted to do. Burriesci grew up with the idea that you are always there for family, and helping in the kitchen was just that.
But restaurants have long hours, and by the time his father would get home, the family might find themselves eating dinner at midnight. The time on the clock never mattered as much as the fact that they were together having a meal. The recipe Burriesci is sharing here was one of his favorites growing up. He remembers his father would grill up some lamb chops with garlic and oil and his mom would prepare some pasta with bread crumbs and broccoli rabe. (It should be noted that the bread crumbs were made from homemade bread and that same tradition holds true in the Burriesci household as well as at Sal's Pizza. “The bread is made for bread crumbs,” he says.)
Sal's Pizza in Wind Gap is a made-from-scratch kitchen as well as a longtime local favorite. Their slogan says it all: There's only two places to eat... Sal's and home.
“We are old-school in both kitchens—ours and at Sal's,” he says. “It is 100 percent us. All the prep is us… it is all made with love because cooking for our immediate family and our customers who have become family is our love language.”
His life is indeed full of both cooking and romantic love, as he recently married his longtime sweetheart and next-door neighbor, Alexa Sabatino, in 2020. “The best thing you can do for a person is give them a hug and a kiss and feed them. That is taking care of each other,” says Burriesci, who continues to run Sal's Pizza with his brother and younger sister, Gina.
487 W. Moorestown Rd., Wind Gap | 610.863.7565 | salspizzawindgap.com
Grilled Lamb
Ingredients
- 2 racks of lamb
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
- Garlic, sliced
- Rosemary
- Oregano
Instructions
Slice lamb into lollipops and season with sea salt and black pepper.
Grill to medium rare. During the last 30 seconds of cooking, brush each piece of lamb with a mixture of olive oil, sliced garlic, rosemary, oregano and black pepper.
Capellini with Anchovies & Bread Crumbs
Ingredients
- 1 bunch broccoli rabe
- 2 cups bread crumbs
- 4 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- ½ cup Pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ white onion, chopped
- 7 anchovies, chopped
- 1 lb. capellini pasta, cooked al dente
- Crushed red pepper
Instructions
Blanch and shock one bunch of broccoli rabe, set aside.
Toast bread crumbs in a pan with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of butter on low heat until bread crumbs are browned. Turn the heat off and mix in Pecorino Romano cheese.
In a separate pan, sauté garlic and white onion with 3 Tbsp. of olive oil.
Once the garlic and onion start to soften, turn the heat off and mix in chopped anchovies. Add in broccoli rabe, one pound of capellini pasta (cooked al dente) and one cup of starchy pasta water. Toss together with half of the toasted bread crumb mixture and more olive oil (as desired).
Before serving, top with more bread crumb mixture, Pecorino Romano cheese and crushed red pepper.
