Timballo di Maccheroni

Pasta and ragù baked inside a sweet shortcrust case and turned out whole.

Chicken, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains chicken, meat the source does not name, mozzarella whose rennet the source does not name, parmesan whose rennet the source does not name.

Ingredients

• 400 g plain flour, for the pastry
• 200 g cold butter, diced, for the pastry
• 100 g caster sugar, for the pastry
• 2 egg yolks, for the pastry
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, for the pastry
• 500 g short maccheroni
• 800 ml meat ragù
• 200 g chicken livers, trimmed and chopped
• 200 g mozzarella, diced and drained
• 80 g parmesan, grated
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt

Method

1. Rub the butter into the flour, sugar and salt, bind with the yolks, and chill it an hour. It is a sweet pastry and that is correct — the faint sweetness against the ragù is the whole point of a timballo.
2. LINE A DEEP TIN WITH TWO THIRDS OF THE PASTRY AND BAKE IT BLIND, 20 minutes at 180C with beans. THIS IS THE DISTINCTION from a sartù, which is lined with breadcrumbs, and from a pasta 'ncasciata, which is lined with fried aubergine. Here it is pastry, and an unbaked case goes soggy under the filling.
3. Fry the chopped livers briefly and stir them into the ragù.
4. Boil the maccheroni for two thirds of their time and mix with the ragù, the beaten eggs, the mozzarella and the parmesan.
5. Fill the blind-baked case, lay a pastry lid on, seal the edge and cut a vent.
6. Bake at 180C for 45 minutes until the pastry is deep gold.
7. REST IT 30 MINUTES, then turn it out or release the tin. It is cut in wedges and should stand up on the plate.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes