Stanley Tucci Cookbook Recipes

MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Place 6 slices dried bread in a bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside until bread softens, about 5 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine meat, parsley, garlic, egg, cheese and salt and pepper to taste, using your hands to mix the ingredients. Remove and discard crust from each slice of soaked bread. Squeeze water out of bread and, breaking it into small pieces, add it to meat. Work bread into meat until they are equally combined and mixture holds together like a soft dough. Moisten remaining slices of dried bread and add as needed.
• Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium- to medium-low heat. Scoop out a tablespoon of meat mixture. Roll between the palms of your hands to form a ball about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Cook meatball until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. (A meatball that sticks to the pan is not ready to be turned.) Taste the meatball, and if needed, adjust seasoning of remaining mixture by adding more garlic, parsley, cheese and salt and pepper. Remaining meatballs should be 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Cook meatballs in small batches. As each batch is completed, remove to a warmed serving plate. Add oil to pan as necessary. Serve when all the meatballs are cooked.

TIMPANO ALLA "BIG NIGHT"

Steps:

• Prepare the dough: Place flour, eggs, salt and olive oil in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. (A large-capacity food processor may also be used.) Add 3 tablespoons water and process. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture comes together and forms a ball. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead to make sure it is well mixed, about 10 minutes. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes. (The dough may be made in advance and refrigerated overnight; return to room temperature before rolling out.)
• Flatten dough on a lightly floured work surface. Dust top with flour and roll it out, dusting with flour and flipping the dough over from time to time, until it is about 1/16-inch thick and is the desired diameter. (To calculate the diameter for the dough round, add the diameter of the bottom of a heavy 6-quart baking pan, the diameter of the top of the pan and twice the height of the pan.) Grease the baking pan generously with butter and olive oil. Fold dough in half and then in half again, to form a triangle, and place in pan. Open dough and arrange it in the pan, gently pressing it against the bottom and the sides, draping extra dough over the sides. Set aside.
• Prepare the filling: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Have salami, provolone, hard-cooked eggs, meatballs and ragù sauce at room temperature. Stir 1/2 cup water into sauce to thin it. Toss pasta with olive oil and allow to cool slightly before tossing with 2 cups sauce. Distribute 4 generous cups of pasta on bottom of timpano. Top with 1 cup salami, 1 cup provolone, 3 eggs, 1 cup meatballs and 1/3 cup Romano cheese. Pour 2 cups sauce over ingredients. Repeat process to create additional layers until filling comes within 1 inch of the top of the pan, ending with 2 cups sauce. Pour beaten eggs over the filling. Fold pasta dough over filling to seal completely. Trim away and discard any double layers of dough. Make sure timpano is tightly sealed. If you notice any small openings cut a piece of trimmed dough to fit over opening. Use a small amount of water to moisten these scraps of dough to ensure that a tight seal has been made.
• Bake until lightly browned, about 1 hour. Cover with aluminum foil and continue baking until the timpano is cooked through and the dough is golden brown (and reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees), about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 30 or more minutes to allow timpano to cool and contract before attempting to remove from pan. The baked timpano should not adhere to the pan. To test, gently shake pan to the left and then to the right. It should slightly spin in the pan. If any part is still attached, carefully detach with a knife.
• To remove timpano from pan, place a baking sheet or thin cutting board that covers the entire diameter on the pan on top of the timpano. Grasp the baking sheet or cutting board and the rim of the pan firmly and invert timpano. Remove pan and allow timpano to cool for 30 minutes. Using a long, sharp knife, cut a circle about 3 inches in diameter in the center of the timpano, making sure to cut all the way through to the bottom. Then slice timpano as you would a pie into individual portions, leaving the center circle as a support for the remaining pieces. The cut pieces should hold together, revealing built-up layers of great stuff.