August 11, 2015 - Radio Kitchen - Timpano
In 1996, a movie came out that captured my imagination. "The Big Night" told the story of two young Italian brothers who wanted to make their little New York restaurant a temple to classic Italian cooking. To promote their cuisine, they plan for a special dinner featuring a special dish: the timpano. And as Chef Jerry Pellegrino of Schola Cooking School can bear witness that yours truly figured out how to tackle this wonderful dish.
And since this is the height of tomato season, we are happy to give our listeners a great recipe that calls for lots of farm fresh tomatoes.
Truth to tell, this is not a difficult dish, it's just labor intensive. It calls for you to prepare a number of sub-ingredients, then assemble them for baking. "Timpano" is the Italian word for drum, and since this recipe is cooked in a deep round bowl, it does look drum-like when you turn it out onto a plate.
Here are the things you'll need to prepare in advance. At least four cups of your best tomato sauce, two dozen small meatballs, and enough pasta dough to roll out a circle about 26" in diameter. You'll also need a deep round oven-proof bowl that is at least 12" wide.
Here's a simple sauce recipe using fresh tomatoes:
5 pounds fresh tomatoes, cored, and peeled
3 tbs olive oil
2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs tomato paste
3/4 tsp each of dried basil, thyme and oregano
1/2 tbs salt
1/2 tbs ground pepper
1-2 tsp sugar
2 tbs balsamic vinegar.
1. Chop the tomatoes and set aside, retaining their juice.
2. In a deep sauce pan, heat the olive oil and cook the onions until they are translucent. Add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes and their juice, along with the tomato paste, spices and seasoning. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and cook it all for at least two hours. Finally, adjust the seasoning and stir in the balsamic vinegar as a finishing touch.
To make a healthy pasta, use a blend of 50% whole wheat flour and 50% "type 0-0" Italian pasta flour. You will need about three cups total to make enough pasta. When your dough is made, wrap it in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour. You will need a large flat surface that you can either lightly grease or dust with flour. Using a rolling pin, make your 26" round, and get it as thin as you can.
To make the meat balls, use about 3/4 pound each of ground pork and ground beef, your favorite seasonings, eggs and breadcrumbs as binders. Roll out small meatballs, about 1" in diameter. We want a couple dozen.
You are now ready for the grand recipe.
Al's Timpano
pasta rolled out to a 26" round, as thin as possible
4 cups tomato sauce
2 cups cooked penne pasta
6 hard-boiled eggs, cut in quarters
2 cups shredded provolone cheese
2 dozen small 1" meatballs
1 pound prosciutto, torn up into small pieces
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced lengthwise
1. Gently place the pasta into a large, deep, greased oven-proof bowl, preferably one purpose made for timpano. There should be a lot of pasta hanging over the edges.
2. Ladle in some tomato sauce into the bottom of the bowl. Drop a layer of penne in next. Cover that with a layer of shredded provolone. Next, put in a layer of meatballs, a layer of eggs and olives, a little more tomato sauce, the shredded prosciutto, a little more pasta, and finally one last layer of cheese. Keeping one and a half cups of sauce for service, pour the remainder over the layers of ingredients.
3. Carefully fold the over-hanging pasta over the top of the bowl and brush with olive oil. Cover the entire top with aluminum foil. Bake in a 350° oven for 45 minutes with the foil, and another 30 minutes without.
4. Take the finished timpano out of the oven, and set aside to cool slightly. When you can handle the bowl, place a serving plate on top of it, invert the bowl and gently coax the finished timpano out of it. Take it to the table and solicit admiration from your guests. Cut wedges for individual servings and serve with the remaining tomato sauce.
