Chef at Stone Mansion knows how to give the royal treatment

Cooking for a family of six is tough any time, but when each family member wears a crown to the dinner table, meal planning can become a royal pain.

Chef Chuck Errafaq, who worked in 1981 as a chef for the Faisal royal family of Saudi Arabia, swears it was no big deal. The king, queen and their four children required just one meal per day -- lunch. They didn't eat breakfast, and usually snacked on what they found in the kitchen for dinner. Errafaq had to create just one large meal each day, making sure chicken and rice were always on the table.

"It was a good job -- you worked three hours a day," Errafaq says.

Now as the executive chef of Stone Mansion Restaurant, in Franklin Park, he treasures his day off every Sunday. "I stay in bed and watch a lot of movies," Errafaq says.

He serves as many as 250 diners each day with meals that are on the menu, or creates special orders based on customers' requests. His signature dish, Duck Breast Errafaq, combines seared boneless Maple Leaf duck breast with watercress, fried shoestring potatoes, sun-dried blueberries, macadamia nuts and a mango and duck demi-glace.

Errafaq's style of cooking is French, but his heritage is Moroccan. When he quit school at age 13, an ultimatum from his mother started his journey into the culinary world.

"I got two choices: be a cop or go to chef school," says Errafaq, 43.

To chef school he went, leaving his native Morocco to study in Toulouse, France. He went on to cook and train in France, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Germany.

He came to the United States in 1984 to open his uncle's Moroccan restaurant in Disney World's Epcot Center. "It's like you're in Morocco," Errafaq says of the restaurant, where there were 125 cooks and seven sous chefs. "You come in, you get fresh bread and tea, and belly dancers come by about every 20 minutes."

Errafaq has been married to his wife for 17 years. They met in Sarasota, Fla., but settled in Pittsburgh, her hometown, in 1994. The two live in Cranberry with their 15-year-old daughter, and they are expecting a second child in August.

Errafaq started working at Stone Mansion just three weeks after it opened in 1994 under new ownership and with fresh remodeling. The mansion was built in the 1930s with materials and architectural elements purchased from mansions around Pittsburgh. When owner Don R. Mervis opened the restaurant, he patterned it after an English manor, featuring a newly built lounge and "a more pristine look," Mervis says. "We addressed every square inch of the building. If we didn't wallpaper or carpet it, we certainly scrubbed it."

Errafaq's multicultural expertise complemented Mervis' ambitions of serving a continental menu featuring French, Italian and regional American cuisine. "He's very professional and good to work with," Mervis says. "His foundation is French cooking."

The Stone Mansion , 1600 Stone Mansion Drive, Franklin Park, is open for lunch from 11:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, and for dinner from 4:30-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 4:30-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Closed Sundays. Details: 412-934-3000.

Chef Chuck Errafaq, of Stone Mansion Restaurant, in Franklin Park, shared his recipe for Italian Cannelloni, the same dish he prepared at the Taste of Pittsburgh's Pasta! competition in June. The recipe, which tied for first place with a Taipei tuna noodle salad made by Chef Eric Fisher, of Jimmy G's, in Sharpsburg, is a blend of classic Italian ingredients that the chef came up with four days before the contest. "I come up with the stuff people can't have (everywhere). You can have pasta everywhere you go, but you can't have pasta like this," Errafaq says. He serves a similar cannelloni, stuffed with ricotta cheese, portabella mushrooms and spinach, as part of Stone Mansion's menu. Errafaq suggests pairing the dish with a merlot. Soft pasta sheets are available at large supermarkets and Italian specialty stores.

• 6 ounces ricotta cheese
• 2 portabella mushrooms, diced
• 2 ounces Italian dressing
• 2 soft pasta sheets (8- by 10-inches)
• 2 ounces capicola, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chiffonade (cut into fine slivers) fresh basil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Marinara Sauce ( recipe follows )
• 4 ounces buffalo mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 2 ounces prosciutto ham, thinly sliced
• 2 ounces soft salami, sliced
• Fresh garlic, chopped, to taste
• 2 slices Swiss cheese
• 1 to 2 large egg whites, beaten
• 1/2 cup water
• Pizzaiola Sauce ( recipe follows )
• Bechamel Sauce ( recipe follows )
• Yellow and red sweet peppers, diced, for garnish
• Sprig fresh basil, for garnish

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the ricotta cheese with the mushrooms and Italian dressing, and set aside.

Place a soft pasta sheet on a work surface. Place three slices of capicola in a line on the pasta, and spread each slice with some of the ricotta cheese mixture ( see Photo 1 ). Sprinkle with fresh basil, salt and pepper and spread with of Marinara Sauce. Top with four slices of buffalo mozzarella. Place a second soft lasagna pasta sheet on top of the stuffing, leaving the top of the first pasta sheet uncovered. On the new pasta sheet, place a line of prosciutto slices, sprinkle with fresh basil and top with three pieces of soft salami. Spread more of the ricotta mixture over the top ( Photo 2 ). Sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped fresh garlic, spread with Marinara Sauce ( Photo 3 ) and top with 2 slices of Swiss cheese.

Brush the top, uncovered edge of the bottom pasta sheet with beaten egg whites , and then roll the pasta from the bottom to the top around the stuffing. Next roll the cannelloni into plastic wrap, twisting each end closed, then wrap in a sheet of aluminium foil.

Put the wrapped cannelloni into a baking pan with the water in the bottom, and poke holes across the top of the foil with a toothpick. Bake for 45 minutes. When cool, unwrap the cannelloni and slice it into 2 1/2-inch pieces.

To Plate: Spread a thin layer of Pizzaiola Sauce on the plate, then arrange two slices of cannelloni on top and drizzle Bechamel Sauce over the top. Arrange diced red and yellow sweet peppers around the plate, then top the cannelloni with a sprig of fresh basil.

Makes 2 servings.

Marinara Sauce

• 4 ounces (about 1/4 cup) olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 anchovies, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped shallot
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• Pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 can extra large can (110 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 cup water

Place the olive oil in a saucepan and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion, anchovies, garlic, shallot, herbs and salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat until the onion and shallot are caramelized. Add the tomato sauce and water, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Remove and discard the bay leaves after the sauce is finished cooking.

Pizzaiola Sauce

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped shallot
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• Pinch each of salt, freshly ground black pepper and dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon capers
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 tomato, diced
• 1/2 cup Marinara Sauce ( see recipe )
• 1 tablespoon butter

Place the oil in a saute pan and swirl to coat the pan. Place the pan over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, capers and basil and saute until softened. Add white wine, tomato, Marinara Sauce and butter. Stir to mix the ingredients, and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Bechamel Sauce

• 1 quart heavy cream
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Pinch each of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients in a pan over low heat. Let simmer until the cream starts to thicken, then remove from the heat.