The timbale it is a very rich dish, of the Neapolitan and Sicilian tradition, cooked in a particular mold from which it takes its name, e stuffed with meat, fish or vegetables. Usually it is wrapped in a pastry and can be prepared with rice or pasta. Our recipe calls for the use of macaroni, a short pasta with a tubular shape and empty inside, suitable to better "trap" the sauce.

Step by step

The timbale recipe is quite laborious, because it involves more processing. First things first the dough which will then contain everything else. Then the pasta sauce, in which tomato, sausage, ham, bacon and minced meat are mixed together. To this sauce are added some fried meatballs, in addition to a stuffed prepared with chicken livers, mushrooms, fior di latte and peas. The whole is placed in the mold covered with pastry and baked in the oven.

The macaroni timbale recipe

Ingredients

For the pasta: 600 g flour, 150 g butter, 3 eggs, salt.

For the sauce: 200 g minced meat, 50 g diced bacon, 1/2 glass of white wine, 50 g butter, 75 g chopped ham, 200 g crumbled sausages, 1/2 cup of tomato paste, milk, salt , pepper, chopped aromatic herbs.

For the meatballs: 300 g minced meat, 1 egg, 100 g grated bread, 100 g grated Parmigiano Reggiano, salt, pepper, parsley, extra virgin olive oil.

For the filling: restricted meat broth, 50 g chopped pancetta, 250 g fiordilatte mozzarella, 75 g minced raw ham, 150 g grated parmesan, 3 chopped chicken livers, 200 g peas, 50 g dry mushrooms, 2 hard-boiled eggs, 500 g macaroni, onion, white wine.

Method

First prepare the pasta and let it rest. Then think about the sauce: melt the butter in a pan and then add the minced meat, pancetta, ham, sausage, tomato and white wine. When the latter has evaporated, add the milk, salt and pepper and cook for about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the meatballs: mix all the ingredients in a large bowl except the oil and the breadcrumbs, form small meatballs, pass them in the breadcrumbs and then fry them in plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Then leave them aside.
Now put the broth in a saucepan and let it reduce by half. In a frying pan fry the chicken livers, while in another fry the chopped onion, pancetta and then add the peas and white wine. Cover and cook until the peas are soft.
Put the dried mushrooms to soak for 15 minutes, then squeeze them, slice them and keep their water. Cook the mushrooms in a little oil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, boil the eggs.
Add the meatballs, the filtered liquid of the mushrooms, the peas and the chicken livers to the sauce pan. Stretch with broth if it was too thick.
Now cover with a portion of the dough that you had prepared a mold 22 cm wide and 15 high. Cook the macaroni in a saucepan and drain it al dente.
At this point prepare the timbale: pour a part of the macaroni into the mold, add the filling and the sauce, add the sliced ​​mozzarella, the Parmesan, again the macaroni, the sauce and the filling and equalize. Close with the remaining sheet well stretched and tightly closed at the edges and place in a hot oven at 200 ° for about 20 minutes, until you see the dough turn golden. Turn out on a serving plate ten minutes after removing the timbale from the oven.