Always curious and intrigued about The Miami Bath Club in Miami Beach, having followed its progress and its reinvention, I was happy to receive a media invitation to dine at The Courtyard, the first of three food and beverage locations to open. It is here I was to eat what is one of my best dishes of 2021 and be served by Ivan, one of the best waiters I’ve had this year in Miami. Good news! I managed to get the chef to share the recipe for our favorite dish here.

The Courtyard is Spanish architecture and a  Mediterranean style ambiance with its flower bedecked pergola, colonnade for covered seating, and a menu to match the decor with influences from Spain, Italy and France . It’s in a separate ivy covered historic building adjacent to The Miami Bath Club residences. Also housed here are an after dinner drink and cigar area called Terraza, and Cafeteria that is billed as a “glamorous option” for dinner. There’s private beachfront, a large swimming pool, clay tennis courts,and social programming (think French horns and Bourbon & cigar nights),  all part of the by invitation only beach club.

If joining isn’t in your budget and you can snag an invitation from a member, you’ll find a well designed menu with everything from classic cafe fare and small Asian and Italian inspired small plates, along with pizza and an appealing selection of entrees. A lovely touch is all English porcelain dishes of different patterns. Besides “the best” dish” I’ll tell you more about shortly, others that caught my eye were the Faroe Island salmon’s treatment with chickpea, baby spinach and Chermoula yogurt and the chicken paillard made with chicories, grapes, pickled raisins, and a toasted almond honey vinaigrette. Prices are ball park these days for a good restaurant — small plates in the teens and entrees in the twenties and thirties.

As you guessed at this point, the restaurant isn’t open to the public. But the good news I mentioned earlier is that what follows is the recipe for their rigatoni made with basil, zucchini, English peas, ricotta, Meyer lemon and pistachio and sunflower seeds for crunch. It’s an explosion of color and flavors, with pieces of squash and zucchini, and just a touch spicey. Another we really enjoyed which is a classic but exceptional here, the skirt steak. it’s a Wagyu beef that really works as skirt steak, and served with a terrific salsa verde that’s a little like chimichurri, grilled romaine and peppers with herb frites on the side. The meat was rich, buttery and flavorful.

Now that you’re drooling, here’s the recipe for rigatoni.

Ingredients (note: this recipe serves one person)

5 oz rigatoni pasta cooked al dente

2 Tbsp minced shallot

2 Tbsp minced garlic

3 oz sliced zucchini

3 oz sliced yellow squash.

2 oz English peas

3 Tbsp finely shredded basil

3 oz ricotta cheese

1 Meyer lemon

2 Tbsp chopped pistachio nuts

2  squash blossoms

2 oz extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

In a 10” sauté pan, heat olive oil. Add chopped garlic and shallots. Toss in sauté pan once olive oil is heated,  sliced zucchini, sliced yellow squash, English peas, and finely shredded basil. Use a grater with Meyer lemon for zest. Once zest is added to sauté pan, cut lemon in half and squeeze juices into pan. Place rigatoni in pasta simmering water to re-heat, being cautious not to overcook. Add pasta and ricotta cheese to saute pan and flip in pan multiple times to incorporate everything together. Add kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper as needed. Transfer to favorite pasta plate using kitchen tongs. Finish dish with chopped squash blossoms, chopped pistachio nuts, parsley chopped, and grated parmesan.

The Miami Bath Club, 5937 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach.