152 West Girard Avenue, (267) 886-9556
To an Italian, the word paesano means “villager.” To chef Peter McAndrews, the definition is far more delicious. Paesano was the name that he and a fellow cook gave to their favorite late-night sandwich, a burger topped, quite improbably, with pancetta and garlic aioli and Gorgonzola dolce and french fries and a chefly drizzle of thirty-year-old balsamic vinegar. “It got the name Paesano’s because you had to split it,” says McAndrews. “You had to share it with a friend.” So, when McAndrews opened his first sandwich shop, a small lunch counter across Girard Avenue from his first restaurant Modo Mio, to share his love of “in your face sandwiches” with the city, it was Paesano’s Philly Style.
“Philly is a big sandwich town—cheesesteaks, roast pork, hoagies—but not a deep one,” says McAndrews, who would indulge his sandwich addiction on shopping trips. “The sandwiches I got were always good, but they weren’t great. I would bring them home and fix them. I wanted a sandwich that made a statement.”
There seems to be no debate that McAndrews makes the best roast pork in the city, the meltingly tender Arista, layered with long hots, and the best hoagie in the city, the Daddy Wad, stuffed with five types of Italian cured meats. But it’s McAndrews’s own creations that have the biggest fans. The Paesano burger was retired in favor of the Paesano sandwich, equally worthy of the name: beef brisket topped with horseradish mayo and roasted tomatoes and pepperincino and sharp provolone and a fried egg.
“We had lasagna Bolognese on the menu at his first restaurant. Modo Mio when we first opened. If we had some left over, I would fry it up, put an egg on top, and put it on leftover bread. We knew it was good,” says Paesano’s Philly Style chef-owner Peter McAndrews. “When Paesano’s opened, it was a natural fit.”
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium Spanish onions, diced
4 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
1 pound ground veal
1 pound ground pork
¼ pound pancetta, diced
3/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup whole milk
1 cup red wine
1 teaspoon chopped rosemary
Kosher salt and black pepper, as needed
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 pounds shredded smoked mozzarella
2 tablespoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1¼ pounds pasta dough
All-purpose flour, as needed
8 quarts water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3½ cups prepared Bolognese sauce
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1½ cups prepared smoked mozzarella besciamella
Canola oil, as needed
1 cup all-purpose flour
15 large eggs, 5 eggs lightly beaten and 10 eggs fried
1½ cups bread crumbs
10 Italian rolls
Chopped rosemary, as needed
Special equipment: Thermometer
To prepare the Bolognese sauce: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook until translucent, but not browned. Add veal, pork, and pancetta. Increase heat to high and brown meat, stirring constantly. Add tomato paste, milk, wine, and rosemary. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 1½ hours. Season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the smoked mozzarella besciamella: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until smooth. Cook, stirring, until golden brown, 6–7 minutes.
Add milk, stirring constantly. Bring mixture to just under a boil and then slowly add mozzarella, stirring until fully incorporated. Add salt and nutmeg and remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
To prepare the lasagna: Divide the pasta dough into 4 portions. Roll each through the thinnest setting on a pasta machine and lay rolled pasta on a lightly floured surface to dry for 10 minutes. Cut the pasta into 5-inch squares and cover with a damp kitchen towel.
In a large saucepan over high heat, bring water to a boil. Add salt to water. Set up an ice bath and add olive oil to ice bath. Drop pasta into boiling water and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to the ice bath to cool, then drain on kitchen towels, laying the pasta flat.
Preheat oven to 375°F.
Assemble the lasagna in a 9 x 12-inch pan. Spread a layer of Bolognese sauce in pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Add a layer of pasta and top with besciamella. Repeat until all ingredients are used, finishing with a layer of pasta topped with besciamella and Parmesan. Bake until edges are browned and sauces are bubbling, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool, refrigerated, for 3 hours.
To serve: Fill a large, heavy-bottomed pan half full with oil. Over medium-high heat, heat oil to 350°F.
Cut lasagna into 10 pieces. Dredge lasagna pieces in flour, shaking off excess. Dip each piece of lasagna in egg, then dredge in bread crumbs, shaking off excess. Working in batches, fry lasagna in oil until crispy and golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Place fried lasagna in rolls. Top with remaining prepared besciamella, remaining prepared Bolognese sauce, and an over-easy egg. Garnish with rosemary.