Phantom Gourmet: Il Casale In Lexington

LEXINGTON - Chef Dante de Magistris is an artist; crafting each dish with technique, precision and patience; using authentic Italian recipes that are time tested and palate approved.

"I cook because it makes people happy."

And he's certainly making customers happy one dish at a time at Il Casale. Located on Mass Ave in Lexington, Il Casale Cucina Campana is the third installment of Dante's ever-growing family of Italian restaurants, including the original Il Casale in Belmont and Dante in Cambridge.

"This restaurant is all about traditional home cooked Italian food, really focusing on the region of Campana. It's where my dad's from. It's where I spent a good amount of time cooking right after high school and learned quite a bit about the culture and why these traditions can lasts hundreds of years."

So here at his latest spot in Lexington, he's lined his menu with all of the de Magistris family favorites.

"These are all the favorites from my brothers and I. Food we grew up with. My dad will come in here almost every night and taste it and tell me what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong. If we can make Italians happy, hopefully we can make anyone happy."

It all starts with the pasta, which is made every day by hand.

"We make all our own pasta because it tastes better. We're taking really good ingredients, proper technique and it's taking something simple as pasta - that is kind of ordinary sometimes - and making it extraordinary."

There's the pumpkin filled ravioli served in a flavorful brown butter with sage and amoretti crumbs. The lasagna is layered with mozzarella, béchamel, and Parmigiano Reggiano, and then topped with a light meat sauce. If you love Bolognese, you have to try the Pork Ragu. This version from Campania features a meaty Ragu Napoletana served over housemade mafalde pasta.

"The pork ragu is very hearty. It's a perfect thing to eat on a cold winter's day. It really soaks up that sauce and so very al dente just like the Neapolitans like."

Neapolitans also have a soft spot for street food, so Dante created a section of his menu dedicated to the region's most celebrated and fun everyday dishes.

There's the Mozzarella in Carrozza, a decadent fried grilled cheese served alongside a tomato basil salad and the Pizzetta Fritta, a Neapolitan Fried Dough paired with sliced sopressata and chunks of provolone. But the must order is the Panzarotti, a crispy potato croquette stuffed with smoked scamorza.

"When you cut into it, the cheese just oozes out. I recommend using your hand. It's quite alright to use your hands when you eat this; it's street food."

For something more formal, order the Aqua Pazza. Literally translated as "crazy water", this Neapolitan style seafood stew combines scallops, calamari, shrimp, clams and bass in a flavorful broth.

"The Aqua Pazza really is crazy water, because when you cook all of the fish and all of the seafood together in one pan it creates a crazy water. It's crazy good."

Also insanely tasty is the Braised Beef, which combines slow cooked meat with San Marzano tomatoes and roasted vegetables. The Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder is served over celery root and slathered in citrus.

"It's served with a citrus marmalade, and this marmalade coats the slow roasted tender pork and gives it a little richness and sweetness."

For something super sweet, save room for the Bocconcini.

"The bocconcini is kind of like a cream puff, but instead of it baked, we fry the dough. It looks like a little sea shell and we fill it with lemon pastry cream and top it with a little piece of sour cherry. When you bite into it you get a little warm texture on the outside and the inside you get the cool cream and a little sweetness and sour from the cherry."

While the hours are long and the work is hard, Dante never minds doing the cooking because he's making the food he loves.

"I love the challenge of bringing Italy to Belmont, Lexington and Cambridge. Nowadays people travel so much, so they understand. They know what's good and what's not and they can see that this is what Italian food is supposed to be."

You can find Il Casale at 1727 Mass. Ave in Lexington, and online at ilcasalelexington.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.