Timpano Alla Big Night Recipes

'BIG NIGHT' TIMPANO

Steps:

• To make the pasta, mix the flour and the salt together, then stir the salted flour with the eggs and the oil. Continue to stir until the dough comes together in a ball. On a floured work surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until silky smooth. Wrap with plastic and set aside at room temperature for at least 1 hour.
• Combine all the meatball ingredients. Roll into about 65 balls, using 1 tablespoon of meat for each. In a large nonstick frying pan, cook as many meatballs as will fit in 1 layer over medium heat, turning occasionally, for 20 minutes. Repeat if necessary. Set aside in a bowl at room temperature.
• In the same pan used to make the meatballs and utilizing the fat left in the pan, cook the onion, carrot, celery and garlic over medium heat for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Dissolve the tomato paste in the stock or wine and stir into the vegetables. Cook the mixture for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and basil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
• To make the timpano, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the penne with 2 cups of the sauce. Roll out the pasta on a lightly floured surface to make a 26-inch round. Grease a 3-quart stainless- steel bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil and gently mold the pasta sheet to the contours of the bowl; there should be enough hanging over the edge to fold over and cover the filling.
• Spoon 1 cup of penne into the bowl. Top with 1/2 cup of the sauce, 12 pieces of egg, half of the meatballs and 1/3 of the mozzarella. Repeat the process, this time using 3 cups of penne, 1 1/2 cups of sauce, the remaining eggs, meatballs and cheese. Top with the remaining penne and sauce. Create a final layer with the salami. Fold the pasta over the filling and brush with 1 tablespoon of oil. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
• Bake the timpano for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 45 more minutes. To check if it's done make a small hole at the top using a knife blade. If steam comes out and the cheese is melted, it's done. Otherwise, bake for 10 to 15 more minutes. To serve, remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Carefully turn upside down onto a large platter.

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.

TIMPANO: A LA "BIG NIGHT" POSTED BY REQUEST

Steps:

• To make dough, place flour, eggs, salt, and olive oil into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add 3 tbs of the water and process. Add more water 1 tbs at a time until mixture comes together and forms a ball. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead to make sure it is well mixed; set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
• Flatten dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Dust top of dough with flour and roll out until it is about 1/16 inch thick and desired diameter.
• Generously grease baking pan with butter and olive oil. Fold dough in half then in half again to form a triangle, then place in the pan. Open dough and arrange it in the pan, gently pressing it on the bottom and sides letting the excess hang over the edge of pan; set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• To Prepare filling, have all ingredients at room temperature except pasta. Toss drained pasta with the olive oil and 2 cups of the sauce. Put 6 generous cups of pasta into the bottom of the timpano. Top with 1 cup of the salami, 1 cup of the provolone, 6 of the hard boiled eggs, 1 cup of the meatballs, and 1/3 cup of the Ramano cheese.
• Pour 2 cups of sauce over the top. Top with 6 cups of remaining pasta, and then the remaining salami, provolone, hard boiled eggs, meatballs and ramano cheese. Pour on 2 cups of the sauce. Top with remaining pasta, and the remaining sauce over that.Pour the beaten eggs over the filling.
• Fold the dough over the filling and seal completely. Trim away and discard any double layers of dough.
• Bake until lightly browned, about 1 hour. Then cover with foil and and continue baking until timpano is cooked through and dough is golden brown, reaching an internal temp of 120°F Remove from oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes or more. The baked timpano should not be attached to the pan, if any part is stuck, gently cut loose with a knife.Carefully invert timpano onto a serving platter. Remove pan and allow to cool for an additional 20 minutes or more. Using a long sharp knife, cut a circle about 3 inches diameter in the center of the timpano making sure to cut all the way through to the bottom. Slice the timpano as you would a pie into serving size portions leaving center in place for support for remaining pieces.