Timballo
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 6 servings
- Calories
- 1179
- Total Fat
- 60
- Saturated Fat
- 17
- Carbohydrates
- 119
- Dietary Fiber
- 12
- Sugar
- 13
- Protein
- 44
- Cholesterol
- 64
- Sodium
- 1344
- Total: 2 hr 15 min
- Active: 1 hr 45 min
Ingredients
Base Pasta Layer:
Kosher salt
1 pound organic penne pasta
Sauce:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled and minced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon baharat
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
28 ounces crushed canned tomatoes, such as Bianco Dinapoli
1/2 cup grated Pecorino-Romano
Fregola Layer:
Kosher salt
8 ounces fregola pasta
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 cup shucked fresh peas
1/2 cup store-bought or homemade pesto
1/2 cup grated Pecorino-Romano
Lasagna Layer:
Kosher salt
4 dried pasta sheets, broken in half
3 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cups baby spinach
Timballo Assembly:
2 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces mozzarella, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 ounces grated Parmesan
Directions
- For the base pasta layer: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the penne for 10 minutes. Then chill in an ice bath after cooking until cool to the touch. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
- For the sauce: Heat a 12-inch cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once, heated, add the onions, garlic, baharat, red chile flakes, fennel seeds and turmeric and cook for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another 15 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender if the tomato pieces are large. Season with salt. Add the sauce to the cooked penne pasta along with the Pecorino-Romano. Stir to combine and keep at room temperature.
- For the fregola layer: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the fregola pasta for 12 minutes scoop out to drain. Set aside in a large bowl. Add the asparagus to the boiling water and let cook until brightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate and let sit until just cool to the touch. Add the peas to the boiling water and let cook until brightened in color, about 2 minutes. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.
- Cut the asparagus into 1-inch pieces and add to the bowl with the peas. Add the pesto and stir to combine. Add the fregola and stir to combine. Set aside.
- For the lasagna layer: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Preheat a pizza oven or oven to broil.
- Boil the pasta sheets for 3 minutes and chill in ice water. Set aside.
- Put the peppers onto a sheet tray and put in the oven to char on all sides, about 10 minutes total, rotating as needed. Remove from the oven and put into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to steam for 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove from the bowl and carefully remove most of the charred skin. Stem, seed and slice the red peppers into thick slices and set aside.
- Put a 12-inch cast-iron pan over medium-high heat and add the oil. Once heated, add the spinach, season with salt and toss to combine, allowing the spinach to wilt, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
- For the timballo assembly: Oil a 14-inch cast-iron pan. Add a 1-inch layer of base penne mixture (about 1/3 of the mixture) and flatten. Add half of the fregola/pea mixture and flatten again. Add a layer of the cooked and cooled lasagna sheets to cover. Cover with half of the wilted spinach, half of the roasted red pepper slices and half of the fresh mozzarella slices. Repeat all the layers, finishing with the base penne mixture and garnish with the Parmesan.
- Bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 20 minutes.
Cook’s Note
All the layers can be made the day before. Assembly can be done ahead as well.