Celebrating The Art Of Living

with Il Buco Vita

As we welcome the month of May, we embrace the season of renewal, growth, and abundant possibilities. It is a time to honor motherhood's nurturing spirit, celebrate nature's bounty, and enjoy hosting long lunches gathered around the table with good food and cherished company.

We will be welcoming the season by setting the table with our new curation from Il Buco Vita. A collection of handcrafted tableware and home decor, created by long-time friend of Arjé, Donna Lennard, the visionary restaurateur and founder of the acclaimed (and of course our favorite!) Il Buco restaurants in New York, Amagansett, and Ibiza. Each a haven for the senses imbued with a magical sense of warmth and community, a feeling reminiscent of walking into our mother's kitchens. The vision of each Il Buco restaurant was not only to create a dining experience but to pay tribute to the Mediterranean way of life - where the art of living is a sacred practice.

Each piece in the Vita collection is handcrafted in Central Italy, thoughtfully sourced and hand-selected by Donna’s partners; Antonello and Lorenzo Radi, and made by artisans using traditional methods and mediums, marrying the rustic simplicity of the old-world with the elegant sophistication of the new.

Il Buco's roots started out as an antique store selling collected treasures imbued with history and tradition. That same love of collecting - stories, friends, recipes, art - lingers today, influencing everything Donna brings to life from setting the luxurious scene for an intimate dinner party to playing host to a bustling restaurant dining room.

We invite you to celebrate the season with Il Buco Vita at Arjé. May this collection inspire you to savor life's simple pleasures and bring the warmth of the Mediterranean into your home.

In Conversation with Donna Lennard

In honor of Mother's Day and the launch of Il Buco Vita at Arjé, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Donna Lennard, the visionary force behind the beloved Il Buco restaurants and the new Il Buco Vita collection at Arjé. Continuously inspired by the taste and texture of her travels, Donna shared with us her favorite spring recipes, the stories behind them, and her favorite pieces from the Vita collection.

We hope to inspire you this weekend to gather around the table with loved ones and celebrate life's simple pleasures.

Recipe I. Bottarga with Shaved Celery

“I'll never forget my trip on the back of Alberto's bright yellow BMW R1100S along the coast of Sardegna from the northeast down to Cagliari. We turned the point and headed up the west coast from Cagliari to Oristano, the cradle of bottarga production, where amber gradations of mullet ovarian sacs lay air-curing in uneven rows. At first glance, I wasn’t enthusiastic. (''Air-cured ovarian sacs” were not something I intuitively knew to be delicious.) But, Alberto revered this delicacy of the sea and I quickly understood why. He shaved it into thin slivers over celery drizzled with a remarkable fresh Sardinian olive oil and I was struck by its subtle brininess and its creamy texture. With the crunch of the celery, the sweetness of the olive oil and the whisper of the sea, still to this day, the perfect harmony of these three ingredients transports me back to that very moment.”

Directions:

1. Remove and reserve the outer leaves of the celery and slice the stalks thinly on a bias.
2. Place on a serving platter.
3. Season with lemon juice and a pinch of sea salt.
4. Using a sharp paring knife, slice the bottarga on the bias into thin strips, no more than ⅛ inch thick, and carefully lay it atop the celery.
5. Drizzle everything with olive oil and garnish with a few celery leaves. Serve immediately.

Set The Table With Donna's Favorites:

Recipe II. Spaghetti alla Bottarga 

1. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (7 to 8 minutes).
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once simmering, add the garlic and cook until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the parsley and crushed peperoncino to taste. Ladle out ¼ cup of pasta water, add to the pan, and incorporate.
3. Drain the pasta, reserving a bit more pasta water. Add the pasta to the skillet, tossing to coat, being careful not to break the noodles.
4. Fold in the bottarga. Sauce should emulsion the bottarga with the pasta. It should be creamy; if dry, add a bit more pasta water and fold into the noodles.
5. Divide in four bowls, season with the fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, a few extra gratings of bottarga and a pinch of salt to taste, and serve immediately.

Set The Table With Donna's Favorites:

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