The joys of the 'Timballo' - a true taste of Italy...

Il Timballo Siciliano

Whilst many of you will have embraced baked Lasagne and Cannelloni dishes, Timballo dishes are surprisingly not very well known outside Italy. In Italy this very delicious dish is as popular as its other baked cousins and could best be described as a savoury 'cake' or 'pie'. A Timballo will consist of a rice or pasta filling that is baked in a round, dome shaped baking tin or mould, and then turned out. It takes a lot of preparation so would usually be eaten on Sundays or on special occasions. 

Rice Timballo

Ingredients vary from northern to southern Italy; in north Italy game birds such as pigeon can be used to make the ragú (meat sauce). In the south ragús are made with a mixture of pork and/or beef mince or have tiny meatballs (the size of a thumbnail), chopped ham or chopped Italian pork sausage running through it. Some Timballos are encased in short-crust pastry, whilst in Sicily they are usually encased in breadcrumbs and fried aubergine/eggplant. Each family will have a favourite way of preparing it.
 

My step-mother's Timballo with tiny meatballs running through the sauce.
A real family favourite.

To assemble a Sicilian Timballo

Prepare some Ragú 'alla Siciliana' (Sicilian meat sauce) with or without the peas - Click here for my Ragú 'alla Siciliana' recipe.

Prepare some Annelletti pasta - the pasta needs to be undercooked and quite 'al dente'.
 
 Mix the pasta with the Ragú sauce and some cubed Caciocavallo cheese (use mild Cheddar or Mozzarella if you are unable to find this). 

Grease a deep round oven-proof mould or baking tin with a generous amount of butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Make sure the breadcrumbs totally cover the base and the insides of the tin. Add more breadcrumbs and grated cheese to the base.

 Arrange some fried aubergine/eggplant slices on the base of the baking tin; to fry the aubergines slice them to about 1cm thickness, arrange them on a tray or platter and sprinkle them with a generous amount of salt. After about an hour rinse them well and dry with kitchen paper. Fry them in hot oil until they are nice and golden on both sides. 
 Cover the fried aubergine with the mixed pasta and meat sauce - mixture shouldn't be too runny - and press down a little. Add another thick layer of breadcrumbs and caciocavallo to the surface of the pasta.


 Bake in a pre-heated oven at about 190 degrees for about 40 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Turn out onto a large plate or tray. Once turned out your Timballo should look something like this...

Delicious Timballo..

 Once you cut into it all the goodness should ooze out like this...

Can't wait to tuck in...Buon Apetito!