Two Pasta Timbale Recipes

TIMBALLO GENOVESE

Steps:

• For the sauce: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Season the meat evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and add to the hot pan. Cook until the meat is deep brown on the first side, about 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until deep, dark brown, an additional 3 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and an additional 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the bits from the bottom and coating the onions in the oil from the pan. Cook the onions, stirring often, until deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add the garlic, carrots and celery and cook until fragrant and soft, another 2 minutes. Clear a little space in the pan so you can see the bottom. Add the tomato paste to that spot and toast the paste, stirring often, until deep red, about 2 minutes. Stir the paste into the vegetables and deglaze with the Marsala. Simmer for 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Place the meat back into the pan and add 3 cups water to cover three-quarters of the way. Nestle the Parmesan rind into the sauce. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid just slightly ajar and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until slightly reduced and the onions are practically melted into the sauce, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Remove the piece of meat and the cheese rind. Discard the rind and save the beef for another use. Using a handheld immersion blender, pulse the sauce to even out the consistency. Stir in the butter until combined. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the sauce and reserve for the assembly.
• For the meatballs: Preheat the broiler to high.
• Mix together the milk, bread and egg with a fork in a medium bowl and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the Parmesan, oregano and salt. Using your hands, mix in the beef until just combined. With damp hands, scoop 1/2-teaspoon mounds and roll into uniform balls. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until browned, about 7 minutes. Set aside.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• For the filling: Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and bacon and cook, stirring often, until the bacon is crispy and browned, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Stir in the peas and salt and remove from the heat.
• For the assembly: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season well with salt. Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes. Using tongs, remove the pasta from the water and add directly to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Sprinkle the bare pasta with 1 1/2 cups Parmesan and toss well with the sauce. Add 1/2 cup pasta water to loosen slightly and help the sauce coat the pasta, if needed.
• Using the tongs, place half of the sauced pasta in the bottom of a springform pan. Spread 1/2 cup of the reserved sauce on top of the pasta. Sprinkle with the smoked provolone. Follow with the pea mixture, then the meatballs. Sprinkle the meatballs with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Press down slightly to pack. Top with the remaining pasta and 1 cup reserved sauce. Press gently to compress. Top the pasta with the remaining 1 cup Parmesan.
• Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown on top, 50 to 60 minutes. Allow the timbale to rest for 30 minutes before running a knife around the edge and unmolding. Slice with a thin, sharp knife to serve.

SICILIAN TIMBALLO

Steps:

• Get authentic Sicilian Anelletti Pasta HERE Make the Crust: In a stand mixer, add the flour, salt and the butter cut in cubes. Let the flour absorb all the butter. Add the eggs and let them mix well. Add enough milk (about 1/4 + Cups) until you have a firm ball of dough. Let it rest. Prepare the Eggplant: Wash, peel and slice the eggplant longways about 1/4" tick. Lightly fry all the eggplant slices in olive oil and set aside. Boil the Pasta: In salted water, cook the Anelletti pasta to just before Al Dente. Drain the pasta, blanch it with very cold water and set aside. Make the Meat Sauce: Add 3 Tbs of EV olive oil in a pot followed by the garlic. Once the garlic turns blonde, add the chopped meat. Let the meat brown and add the white wine. Let the alcohol evaporate and add the bay leaves to be removed once the sauce has cooked and cooled off. Add salt and Peperoncino, as desired, and the fresh parsley. Add the crushed tomatoes and the peas. Let the sauce cook for about 5 mins., set aside to cool. Assembly the Timballo: Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 9" spring-form pan. Mix the pasta and the meat sauce. Take the dough and split it 60/40. Take the larger piece of dough and roll it with a pin to about 1/4" thick and large enough that will line the bottom and the sides of the pan. Place the rolled dough in the pan and cut any excess dough overflowing from the sides. Line the borders of the pan with slices of eggplant with half hanging from the sides of the pan. Line the bottom of the pan with eggplant as well. Line the bottom with a layer of mozzarella. Cover the mozzarella with a layer of pasta until midway into the pan. Add a layer of eggplant and a layer of mozzarella. Cover to the top with pasta to form a little dome. Add another layer of mozzarella and flip over it the eggplant hanging from the sides of the pan. Roll the remaining dough to 1/4" and place over the pan to seal the entire Timballo. Cut any excess dough hanging from the sides and with your fingers seal the bottom and top dough together. Decorate the top of the Timballo as desired and give it a good coating of egg wash. Bake for about 1 to 1 1/4 hours until you have the desired color on top.

PASTINA TIMBALE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Brush 8 (12-ounce) ramekins or 1 large oven-safe bowl with butter and set aside.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and saute sausage until browned.
• Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons of the oil and the minced garlic in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook until the garlic is light brown, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the bread crumbs to the skillet and stir them every minute for 3 to 5 minutes until the crumbs are lightly toasted. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup of the parsley and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Cook for 30 seconds.
• Pour the bread crumb mixture into the prepared ramekins or bowl and press around the sides to line with the bread crumb mixture, using your fingers to evenly distribute it along the bottom and up the sides.
• While the Pastina Timbale Sauce is simmering, cook the pastina in the boiling salted water until just shy of al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain the pastina in a colander.
• Reheat the sauce, if needed, and add the drained pastina and then the browned sausage. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of parsley, and remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine. Transfer the pastina mixture to the lined ramekins (1 1/4 cups per ramekin) or large bowl. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
• Invert the molded pastina timbale onto warmed individual serving plates, and serve.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a bowl, toss tomatoes and whole jalapeno chiles with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place tomato mixture on a cookie sheet and roast in oven for 15 or 20 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from heat and finely chop the tomatoes. Transfer tomato pulp and any juices from the cutting board to a bowl. Chop the chiles and taste to determine their heat.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, season with salt, and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and stir. Add the chiles and simmer for another minute, only adding as much jalapeno as you want for spice. Add the tomatoes and their juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir in the Gorgonzola. Stir in the roasted peppers and the parsley. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.

PASTA TIMBALE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes until it starts bubbling but does not colour.
• Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Continue whisking for about 4 minutes until it thickens.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Pour the sauce into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Make sure to place wrap directly on the surface of the sauce so a skin does not form. Set aside.
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes until soft.
• Add the tomatoes. Partially cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until sauce is very thick.
• Stir in the basil. Season with salt and pepper and set side.
• Put 1¼ cups of the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and crack the eggs into the well.
• With your hands, gradually mix the flour into the eggs until dough forms.
• Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough a few times until you have incorporated as much of the remaining 1/4 cup of flour as possible. The dough will appear lumpy and dry.
• Cut the dough in half and put one ball under a slightly damp towel.
• Flatten the other piece with your hand.
• Set a pasta roller at thickest setting and feed dough through rollers.
• Fold dough into an envelope shape and feed through machine again. Repeat 3 or 4 more times or until your dough looks smooth.
• Reduce the pasta setting by one mark and pass through again. Reduce setting by one mark for each pass through until dough has passed through all settings.
• Cut the sheet of dough in half and put the 2 sheets under a sheet of plastic wrap.
• Repeat the entire process with the second dough ball. You now have 4 sheets of pasta under plastic.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta sheets in the boiling water for about 1 minute each or until al dente.
• Lay them on a well-oiled baking sheet. Do not over-lap the sheets. Spread some more olive oil on top of each pasta sheet.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put one pasta sheet in the centre of a 5 inch deep, 8 inch circular baking dish. Drape the edges of the pasta over the sides. Press pasta sheet into the edges of the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets. The entire bottom and sides of the baking dish should be covered with pasta and the sides of the pasta sheets should be hanging over the sides of the baking dish.
• Cut eggplant into 1/4 inch thick diagonal slices. Brush with oil and grill. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper.
• In a large bowl toss the cooked rigatoni with the tomato basil sauce and parmigiano regiano cheese.
• Spread half the rigatoni on top of the fresh pasta sheets in the baking dish.
• Overlap half of the eggplant slices over the rigatoni.
• Spread half the béchamel on the eggplant slices.
• Top the béchamel with the rest of the rigatoni.
• Place the mozzarella slices on top of the rigatoni.
• Sprinkle with chopped basil.
• Layer with remaining eggplant slices.
• Pour over remaining béchamel sauce.
• Fold the overhanging pasta sheet ends over on top of the dish to seal.
• Brush the top with more olive oil.
• Bake for about 25 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and let the timbale rest for 15 minutes.
• Flip timbale onto a platter and unmould. Cut the timbale into wedges to serve.

TWO-PASTA TIMBALE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 3-quart round deep glass baking dish with the butter. Arrange the spaghetti in a spiral pattern over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
• Spoon the Bolognese sauce into a pastry bag fitted with a wide plain tip and pipe the sauce into the rigatoni. Arrange the rigatoni over the spaghetti in the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Invert the baking dish onto a serving plate and lift it off. Spoon the tomato sauce on top of the timbale and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

CABBAGE AND RICOTTA TIMBALE

Steps:

• Heat the butter over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and salt to taste and cook, stirring often, until cabbage is tender but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in dill, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and pepper. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter 4 1-cup ramekins or a 1- or 1-1/2-quart soufflé dish. Place the ramekins or soufflé dish in a baking pan.
• Beat eggs in a large bowl and beat in ricotta. Stir in cabbage filling. Add salt to taste and freshly ground pepper. Divide evenly among the ramekins. Fill the baking dish with hot water to at least halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake individual ramekins for 40 to 45 minutes, a larger soufflé or gratin for 50 to 60 minutes, until set and lightly colored. Turn off the oven and prop open the door with a wooden spoon. Leave for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let sit for another 10 minutes or longer. Serve from the dish, or unmold.