Ron Del Signore, general manager of Il Bellagio at CityPlace, added breakfast to the menu, including (from left) Eggs in Purgatory, a variety of crepes and Eggs in the Basket. (Damon Higgins / The Post)

By DEBORAH S. HARTZ-SEELEY

Ron Del Signore got tired of going out to breakfast and having to wait in line for a table. So he decided to serve breakfast at the restaurant where he’s general manager, Il Bellagio in West Palm Beach’s CityPlace.

It’s a pretty spot with outdoor tables under green umbrellas overlooking the center’s dancing fountain and central piazza.

And here, he’s not offering just another bacon-and-eggs menu. To create the food, Del Signore sat down with his wife, Rosalie, and his chef, Pauli Johnston, and drew on a lot of family memories.

Del Signore thought about what he ate at his Italian grandmothers’ houses growing up in Pittsburgh.

And then he put Nana’s breakfast on the menu. That’s a slice of crusty Italian bread with the center hollowed out and an egg dropped into the hole, where it cooks. It’s served with sauteed red, green and yellow peppers on top.

Or how about Eggs in Purgatory — tomato sauce made with onions and peas into which you slip two eggs so they can poach. Del Signore says this is a dish his father-in-law, who has Sicilian roots, remembers his grandmother making.

These dishes are easy to prepare at home and will come in handy when you don’t want to wait in line for breakfast, or now that guests are visiting from the north and expect a morning meal. They are also the kind of fare that can be offered as light but satisfying dinner entrees.

Del Signore remembers many family dinners growing up. His mother was born in Introdacqua, about an hour and a half east of Rome, and came to America as a child. His father was born to first-generation Italians from the Naples area.

His father was an Italian chef, his mother managed an Italian restaurant and both his grandmothers lived nearby and loved to cook.

“My grandmothers were the matriarchs,” he says. “Every Sunday we went to see one or the other of them whether we wanted to or not. And now, I wish I could go see them.”

It’s from those nonne and his parents that Del Signore inherited his love of cooking and Italian food.

“My mother was famous for her Wedding Soup. I still make it from scratch,” he says, offering a recipe for that as well as for his breakfast dishes. “To me, cooking is therapy.” To this day he makes a large batch of the Wedding Soup with its meatballs “the size of quarters.” He uses 1 gallon of chicken stock, eats some and freezes the rest to have on hand.

He also remembers his mother making piles of polenta.

She’d “dump” it onto a board and bring it to the table topped with tomato sauce, grated cheese and sausage. Each family member would help himself from the mound.

“I remember carving out maps of Italy from the polenta with my spoon,” Del Signore says.

Today he laughs when he sees polenta on restaurant menus. “They are re-creating a peasant food and charging a lot of money for it.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t feature polenta as an option on his breakfast menu. They cool the polenta in sheet pans, cut it into squares and then into triangles, brown it in butter or oil and serve it with syrup. It’s a nice change from toast or pancakes.

Speaking of pancakes, Chef Johnston created their Ricotta Pancakes, which have a mixture of ricotta cheese, orange zest and orange extract in the batter to give them a nice citrus flavor. A scoop of the perky ricotta mixture and candied walnuts also act as garnish.

And you won’t want to miss the Nutella and Strawberry Filled Crepes topped with whipped cream and more strawberries. They also can make a very sweet dessert.

Italian Wedding Soup, an old-school Italian favorite. (Mark Randall / Sun-Sentinel)

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian Meatballs:
1 pound ground beef
1⁄2 cup seasoned Italian bread crumbs
1⁄2 cup grated Romano cheese
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1⁄4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Chicken Broth:
3 tbsps. olive oil
3 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
1 gallon chicken stock*
1 (14.5-ounce) can whole tomatoes, with juices
2 heads escarole, chopped and washed very well
2 eggs
1 cup grated Romano cheese
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

TO MAKE MEATBALLS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients; mix well. Form meat mixture into meatballs with a diameter of about 1 inch (makes about 46 meatballs no bigger than quarters). Place in a baking pan with sides. Bake 30 minutes until browned and a bit crisp.

TO MAKE BROTH:
In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery and onions and saute 15 minutes over medium to medium-high heat until vegetables begin to brown a little.

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes, crushing the tomatoes as you add them. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to bring it to a slow boil and cook 30 minutes.

Add meatballs and escarole and boil 5 minutes until greens are tender; remove from the heat. (Soup can be frozen at this point).

Beat the 2 eggs with the Romano cheese. Stir gradually into the warm soup. Make sure soup is not boiling at this point or you will scramble the eggs, and do not let the soup boil at any time after you add the eggs. Add salt and pepper. Makes 22 cups (51⁄2 quarts).

Per (1-cup) serving: 131 calories, 47 percent calories from fat, 7 grams total fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 46 milligrams cholesterol, 6 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 2 grams total sugars, 4 grams net carbs, 11 grams protein, 340 milligrams sodium.

*Chicken stock is available in shelf-stable cartons in the soup aisle of supermarkets. You can use chicken broth, if you prefer.

Ricotta Pancakes (Mark Randall / Sun-Sentinel)

Ricotta Pancakes

Orange-Ricotta Mixture:
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tsps. grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. orange extract
2 tbsps. confectioners’ sugar
Pancake Batter:
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Garnishing and Serving:
24 candied nut halves (1/2 cup; recipe below)
1 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

TO MAKE RICOTTA:
Combine all ingredients. Measure 1/2 cup and reserve.

TO MAKE BATTER:

Preheat oven to 200º.

Whisk the milk, butter and egg lightly in a bowl. Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add all at once to the milk mixture and stir just to dampen the flo.ur. Add all but the reserved 1/2 cup of the ricotta mixture and stir just to combine.

Place a nonstick skillet over medium heat until drops of cold water sprinkled on the pan jump and dance. Lightly grease the skillet (we used Crisco vegetable shortening).

Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the hot pan for each pancake. Do not crowd the pan; this will have to be done in batches. Cook until pancakes are full of bubbles on top and lightly browned underneath. Turn and cook on the other side. Place cooked cakes on a baking pan in oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining pancakes.

TO GARNISH:
Garnish each pancake with 1 tbsp. reserved ricotta mixture, 3 nut halves and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Makes 2 cups batter; 8 pancakes.

Per pancake with Candied Nut Halves: 201 calories, 51 percent calories from fat, 11 grams total fat, 5 grams saturated fat, 40 milligrams cholesterol, 17 grams carbohydrates, .7 grams total fiber, 10 grams total sugars, 16 grams net carbs, 8 grams protein, 337 milligrams sodium.

Candied Nut Halves
1 cup pecan or walnut halves
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. plus 2 teaspoons water
1/8 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 275º. Grease a baking pan. Spread the nuts on the pan and bake 10 minutes.

About 3 minutes before the nuts are done, combine the sugar, water and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently as the sugar melts, and then cook 2 minutes, continuing to stir frequently. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Add the warm nuts and stir to coat.

Use a slotted spoon to remove nuts to foil or waxed paper. Separate the nuts with a fork and let dry. Store in an airtight container. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Per (1/4-cup) nuts: 204 calories, 69 percent calories from fat, 16 grams total fat, 1 gram saturated fat, no cholesterol, 17 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 14 grams total sugars, 14 grams net carbs, 2 grams protein, 58 milligrams sodium.

Eggs in Purgatory, served at Il Bellagio at CityPlace. (Mark Randall / Sun-Sentinel)

Eggs in Purgatory

2 tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium Spanish onion, sliced
1 (28-ounce) can plum tomatoes in puree
1/4 cup frozen green peas
1/2 tsp. salt plus more to taste
Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
Crushed dried red pepper flakes
8 large eggs
Water
1 tsp. white vinegar
4 tsps. chopped fresh Italian parsley or basil, for garnish
4 slices toasted Italian bread, for garnish

Heat oil in a nonreactive large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes until softened. Add onions and saute 3 minutes until translucent.

Then add tomatoes with the puree from the can, breaking up the tomatoes as you add them to the pan. Simmer 25 minutes. Add peas, salt to taste, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook 5 minutes until peas are heated through.

When ready to serve, fill a skillet with 2 inches water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and vinegar. Bring water to a boil. Remove skillet from heat. One at a time, break each egg into a small shallow bowl and slip the egg into the hot water. Let the eggs stand in the hot water 3 to 5 minutes until the whites are firm.

While eggs are poaching, divide tomato sauce among 4 small bowls. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon and let drain well. Lay 2 poached eggs on top of sauce in each bowl. Garnish with chopped parsley or basil and toasted Italian bread. Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 336 calories, 49 percent calories from fat, 18 grams total fat, 4 grams saturated fat, 424 milligrams cholesterol, 24 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams total fiber, 9 grams total sugars, 21 grams net carbs, 17 grams protein, 725 milligrams sodium.

Nutella- and strawberry-filled crepes (Mark Randall / Sun-Sentinel)

If you don’t want to make crepes, you can buy ready-made ones in the produce department of supermarkets. And you can vary the amount of fillings and toppings to suit your taste.

Crepe Batter:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
Pinch salt
1 tsp. vegetable oil
Garnishing and Serving:
3/4 cup Nutella
4 cups sliced strawberries
11/2 cups whipped cream
1 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar

TO MAKE BATTER:
Combine ingredients in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until smooth.

Preheat an 8- to 10-inch nonstick crepe or omelet pan (with sloping sides) over medium heat. Spray lightly with no-stick cooking spray. Add about 1/4 cup batter and swirl pan to coat pan thinly and evenly.

Cook until bottom of crepe is lightly golden. Flip and briefly cook other side, if desired. Remove from pan and place on a plate. Top with a piece of wax paper. Continue cooking and stacking the crepes until all the batter is cooked.

TO SERVE:
Spread Nutella on each warm crepe, top each with 1/2 cup sliced fresh strawberries and roll up. Place on plate, garnish each with 1/4 cup whipped cream, a few more sliced strawberries and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Makes 6 filled crepes.

Per crepe: 377 calories, 56 percent calories from fat, 23 grams total fat, 9 grams saturated fat, 105 milligrams cholesterol, 38 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams total fiber, 8 grams total sugars, 36 grams net carbs, 7 grams protein, 133 milligrams sodium.