6 Dec 2018

Recipe: Marcella’s Ristorante Pizzeria launches Sangria Sunday brunch (make this Ricotta Crespelle)

Marcella’s Ristorante Pizzeria and Wine Bar located in the LoHi neighborhood of Denver is a bustling Italian café featuring chef-driven cuisine inspired by authentic Italian recipes and serving
Italian wines, handcrafted cocktails and local beer. You will feel like one, big happy Italian family with shareable antipasti, hot and cold plates, pizzas, pastas and entrees.

Our family recently piled into our booth for a robust dinner of Calamari with roasted garlic aioli, Melted Pecorino Cheese served with crostini, apple and truffle honey. Dinner was the show-stopping Crispy Potato Pizza with Pancetta, Parmesan onions, Taleggio cheese and arugula, as well as the Lasagne alla Bolognese with slow-cooked sausage Ragu and house-made marina. There are several delicious desserts but only one Cannoli with its crisp pastry and a drizzle of chocolate ganache and pistachio.

Though we are not drinkers, the large bar provides a vibrant venue for sampling 50 Italian wines served by the bottle or quartino, as well as handcrafted cocktails and weekday happy hour.

The ristorante recently launched Sangria Sunday brunch with a variety of Italian-inspired brunch items including a Ricotta Crespelle with ricotta-filled crepes, macerated strawberries and Marcona almonds. Below is the recipe for the at-home cook but trust us, this ristorante is worth the visit!

Marcella’s Ristorante Pizzeria and Wine Bar’s Ricotta Crespelle

4 crepes
3 oz. sweet ricotta cheese (Recipe below)
Olive oil or cooking spray
1 oz. Grand Marnier strawberries (Recipe below)
1 T. Marcona almonds
1 T. powdered sugar
Lemon zest, to taste

Place 3/4 oz. of sweet ricotta cheese in the center of each crepe and fold over twice to make a “slice.” Spray a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray and place crepes on it. Heat the crepes in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until the ricotta cheese is warmed through. Place crepes on a plate. Spoon Grand Marnier strawberries over top. Garnish with Marcona almonds, powdered sugar and lemon zest, to taste. Serve immediately.

Grand Marnier Strawberries

1 cup sliced strawberries
1 T. of grand mariner
1 T. of granulated sugar
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature before using for flavors to come together.

Sweet Ricotta

3 fluid ounces of ricotta, drained through a fine strainer in the refrigerator overnight. Draining 1/2 cup of ricotta will yield the 3-fluid ounces
1 t. granulated sugar
Zest of half a lemon
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Author: Amber Johnson

Amber is the founder and editor of Mile High Mamas, travel writer and former columnist for The Denver Post. She is a passionate community builder and loves the outdoors. She has two awesome teens and is happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin.