Eggplant Timbale Timballo Di Melanzane Recipes

EGGPLANT TIMBALE

Steps:

• Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or pre-heat a gas or charcoal grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until tender and colored with grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
• Meanwhile, warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and pork, and brown the meat, breaking it into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the peas and marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the cheeses, basil, and cooked pasta. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the springform pan with the grilled eggplant. Be sure that the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan. Fill the pan with the pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the pan is filling up evenly. Fold the eggplant slices up over the top of the pasta and add a few more slices on top to completely enclose the timbale. Bake the timbale until warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Let rest on the counter for 10 minutes to set. To serve, invert the timbale onto a serving plate and remove the springform pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese over the top. Slice and serve.

A DRUM OF EGGPLANT AND BUCATINI (TIMBALLO DI MELANZANE E BUCATIN

Steps:

• Cut off the stems of the eggplants and discard. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• Salt and layer the eggplant slices in a colander set over a bowl.
• Place a large bowl of water on top of the slices to act as a weight. Let the eggplant "sweat" for at least 1 hour to remove the excess water.
• Butter a 9 x 3 1/2-inch-deep round mold or cake pan and coat the inside evenly with the 1/2 cup bread crumbs.
• Shake out the excess crumbs and refrigerate the mold until ready to fill.
• To make the sauce:
• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and cook, stirring, the onions, carrot, and celery until they soften.
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the garlic softens.
• Stir in the tomatoes, red wine, and bay leaf.
• Cover the pan and simmer the sauce for 30 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Remove the bay leaf before using.
• Cook the bucatini according to the directions.
• Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Set aside.
• In a medium-size bowl, combine the veal, egg, white wine, the 2 tablespoons grated Pecorino, bread crumbs, and salt. Mix gently to just combine the ingredients. Form marble-sized meatballs with your hands.
• Note: Instead of frying the meatballs, bake Bake the meatball on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 350ºF until nicely browned, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer the meatballs to the bowl with the bucatini. Add the mozzarella, parsley, and 2 cups of the tomato sauce. Stir to combine the ingredients well and set aside.
• Rinse and dry the eggplant slices.
• Heat the peanut oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant slices a few at a time until they soften, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Drain the slices on brown paper.
• Use additional oil if the pan seems dry.
• Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
• Line the prepared mold with the eggplant slices, draping them lengthwise over the bottom and overlapping them up the sides of the mold. There should be about a 3-inch overhang over the top edges of the mold. Make sure there are no open spots and that the mold is completely lined with the slices.
• Spoon the bucatini mixture evenly in the mold, packing it down with a wooden spoon all the way around.
• Fold the overhanging slices of eggplant in over the top of the mold; the mixture should be completely encased by the eggplant.
• Spread 1/2 cup of the remaining tomato sauce over the top of the mold and sprinkle with the 1/4 cup Pecorino.
• Bake the timballo, uncovered, for 45 minutes. It is done when the timballo shrinks a bit along the sides and a knife will easily move along the sides.
• Remove the mold from the oven and loosely cover the top with a sheet of aluminum foil. Let the mold stand for 20 minutes.
• Heat the remaining tomato sauce. Remove the foil from the timballo and run a butter knife around the inside edges to loosen it. Place a serving dish larger than the mold over the top and carefully invert it onto the dish.
• Cut the timballo into wedges and serve with additional sauce on the side.
• Tip: Use fresh mozzarella cheese, but if it is not available, substitute pasteurized.

EGGPLANT TIMBALLO WITH CAVATELLI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the eggplant slices on top of a sheet tray lined with parchment or waxed paper. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in oven until it turns golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool.
• Oil the bottoms and sides of 6 souffle dishes and layer 4 to 5 pieces of eggplant in a circular pattern into each souffle dish, letting excess drape out over the edge.
• Heat up the tomato sauce in a large saucepan. Then turn off flame. Reserve some tomato sauce for plating in a smaller pot.
• In a large pot with boiling salted water, cook the cavatelli pasta for 3 to 4 minutes, and drain.
• In the pot with the sauce, add the partially cooked cavatelli, mozzarella, and pecorino to the tomato sauce and cook over medium heat just to blend well. When hot, stir in the basil chiffonade. Spoon the pasta-sauce mixture into the souffle dishes and fold over the top with excess eggplant. Bake in oven for 4 to 5 minutes.
• To serve, spoon the remaining tomato sauce onto individual plates. Turn a finished timballo upside down onto a large spatula to remove it from the souffle dish, then carefully slide it onto the plates. Sprinkle with pecorino and garnish with a basil leaf.
• In a heavy 5-quart saucepan cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, basil, bay leaf, and salt and pepper, to taste, in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until vegetables are softened. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes with reserved juice.
• Simmer sauce, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Sauce may be made 2 days in advance and kept covered and chilled.