Read a book -La Cuccina (terrible book) and the woman was cooking in Italy and the descriptions were so tempting that I tried to translate the general ideas to a recipe. Then I found this recipe which really is almost exact. Made it for a holiday dinner. Good! and fancy looking. The notes are hers. My tweaks were -hardboiled eggs and not unlaid! Margarine since we don't have lard. I used maccheroni. Used beef proscuito since I was taking
it to a home where they don't eat pork.
Time consuming a bit but fun. I loved the crust and I have trouble with crusts.
White Macaroni Timbale / Timballo di Maccheroni Bianco
(From Mary Taylor Simeti: Sicilian Food, Recipes from Italy’s Abundant Isle)
Serves 8-10 (or more as entree)
Ingredients
Pasta frolla pastry
425g / 15oz flour (to get the same effect as ‘soft’ flour, I mix about 25 grams of cornflour with 400 grams of flour)
2 tbsp sugar (I use castor or granulated sugar)
Pinch of salt
125g / 14oz cup unsalted butter
75g / 3oz lard (I use good quality leaf lard from a butcher, but I think you can sub vegetable shortening or maybe even margarine)
1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
125ml / 4 fl oz white wine (I’ve used all kinds of white wine, ranging from sweet to very dry, all have turned out well)
Filling
50g / 2oz dried porcini mushrooms
450ml / 16 fl z hot water
350g / 12oz chicken livers, giblets and where available, unlaid eggs (Note, I definitely haven’t seen unlaid eggs – ! Instead, I use about 350g chicken livers and then add some egg yolks or quail eggs.
125g / 4oz butter
450g / 1lb maccheroni or sedani
1/2 onion, chopped
5 tbsp olive oil
1 egg white
2 tbsp plain tomato sauce
125ml / 4 fl oz white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g / 2oz grated parmesan
125g / 4oz cooked ham, diced
Method
1. Filling: Put the muhrooms to soak in hot water for 2 hours.
2. Pastry: Sift together the flour (plus cornflour), sugar, and salt, cutting in the butter and lard until you get a coarse, lumpy texture. Don’t overmix, the lumpy bits will make the pastry ‘short’ or crispy/crumbly.
3. Stir in the egg and yolk. Add just enough wine to bring the dough together. I start with less wine than I think I need, keep pushing the bits of dough together until they start to form a ball, and add more wine if the dough is dry. The dough should be soft and malleable, softer than play dough.
4. Work the dough for a minute (I just keep pushing the bits of dough together, then knead it a couple of times to ensure the ball stays together). Shape into a ball, refrigerate at least an hour.
5. Filling: Wash the livers and other chicken bits. Cut them into smallish pieces. Saute the onion in the olive oil until soft, stir in the tomato sauce. Turn up the heat, add the livers. Brown on all sides, stir constantly. Then add the white wine, bring to a boil and reduce.
6. When the wine is well reduced, add the mushrooms and the water they soaked in. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boiling point, turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir through 50 grams of butter, keep stirring until it has melted. The filling may be made up to one day ahead until this point.
7. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water, until just barely al dente. Drain well, put in a large bowl, and add the remaining 50 grams of butter, the chicken-liver-and-mushroom sauce, the grated cheese, the diced ham. Mix well, and add salt or pepper if needed.
8. Assemble the pie: Divide the pastry into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger piece to a circle wide enough to line a large pie dish. Fill the pie base with the pasta mixture.
9. Roll out the remaining dough and place it as a lid over the pasta. Seal the edges, decorate the upper crust with scraps of pastry, poke vents in the lid, and brush with a beaten egg white.
10. Bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes – I have used 160C (320F) – 170C (340F) successfully.
it to a home where they don't eat pork.
Time consuming a bit but fun. I loved the crust and I have trouble with crusts.
White Macaroni Timbale / Timballo di Maccheroni Bianco
(From Mary Taylor Simeti: Sicilian Food, Recipes from Italy’s Abundant Isle)
Serves 8-10 (or more as entree)
Ingredients
Pasta frolla pastry
425g / 15oz flour (to get the same effect as ‘soft’ flour, I mix about 25 grams of cornflour with 400 grams of flour)
2 tbsp sugar (I use castor or granulated sugar)
Pinch of salt
125g / 14oz cup unsalted butter
75g / 3oz lard (I use good quality leaf lard from a butcher, but I think you can sub vegetable shortening or maybe even margarine)
1 whole egg plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
125ml / 4 fl oz white wine (I’ve used all kinds of white wine, ranging from sweet to very dry, all have turned out well)
Filling
50g / 2oz dried porcini mushrooms
450ml / 16 fl z hot water
350g / 12oz chicken livers, giblets and where available, unlaid eggs (Note, I definitely haven’t seen unlaid eggs – ! Instead, I use about 350g chicken livers and then add some egg yolks or quail eggs.
125g / 4oz butter
450g / 1lb maccheroni or sedani
1/2 onion, chopped
5 tbsp olive oil
1 egg white
2 tbsp plain tomato sauce
125ml / 4 fl oz white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g / 2oz grated parmesan
125g / 4oz cooked ham, diced
Method
1. Filling: Put the muhrooms to soak in hot water for 2 hours.
2. Pastry: Sift together the flour (plus cornflour), sugar, and salt, cutting in the butter and lard until you get a coarse, lumpy texture. Don’t overmix, the lumpy bits will make the pastry ‘short’ or crispy/crumbly.
3. Stir in the egg and yolk. Add just enough wine to bring the dough together. I start with less wine than I think I need, keep pushing the bits of dough together until they start to form a ball, and add more wine if the dough is dry. The dough should be soft and malleable, softer than play dough.
4. Work the dough for a minute (I just keep pushing the bits of dough together, then knead it a couple of times to ensure the ball stays together). Shape into a ball, refrigerate at least an hour.
5. Filling: Wash the livers and other chicken bits. Cut them into smallish pieces. Saute the onion in the olive oil until soft, stir in the tomato sauce. Turn up the heat, add the livers. Brown on all sides, stir constantly. Then add the white wine, bring to a boil and reduce.
6. When the wine is well reduced, add the mushrooms and the water they soaked in. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boiling point, turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir through 50 grams of butter, keep stirring until it has melted. The filling may be made up to one day ahead until this point.
7. Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water, until just barely al dente. Drain well, put in a large bowl, and add the remaining 50 grams of butter, the chicken-liver-and-mushroom sauce, the grated cheese, the diced ham. Mix well, and add salt or pepper if needed.
8. Assemble the pie: Divide the pastry into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Roll out the larger piece to a circle wide enough to line a large pie dish. Fill the pie base with the pasta mixture.
9. Roll out the remaining dough and place it as a lid over the pasta. Seal the edges, decorate the upper crust with scraps of pastry, poke vents in the lid, and brush with a beaten egg white.
10. Bake in a moderate oven for 30-40 minutes – I have used 160C (320F) – 170C (340F) successfully.