Eggplant Timbale Recipes

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.

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.

EGGPLANT TIMBALE

Steps:

• Bring a small pot of water to boil. While you're waiting for it to boil, put some ice in a bowl and add water to create a water bath to plunge the hot tomatoes. Once the water comes to a boil, add the tomatoes, one at a time. When the water returns to the boil, count to 10, then remove it and put it in the ice water. Continue until all tomatoes are blanched.
• Remove the stem end, and peel the skins from each tomato. Set the tomatoes aside and discard the water bath.
• Halve each tomato through the equator. Squeeze each half, discarding the seeds (you can also use a finger to dislodge and dispose of the seeds). Dice the peeled and seeded tomatoes.
• In a skillet heated over medium heat, heat the oil, then add the garlic and red chile flakes. As soon as the garlic gives off its aroma and becomes opaque, add the chopped tomatoes, along with the basil and salt. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat until the tomatoes soften and give up their juice, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove the lid and continue to cook the sauce over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce begins to thicken. If you need to, use a wooden spoon to stir and help break up the tomato pulp. Remove from heat and set the sauce aside while you assemble the eggplant timbale.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Trim the stem and root ends of the eggplants, and cut them lengthwise into 1/3-inch thick slices. Lay the eggplant slices out on paper towels and salt them generously, then set aside until the salt begins to draw moisture from the eggplant (water will begin to bead up on top of the slices), about 15 minutes. Rinse the eggplant slices and dry well using paper towels.
• Lightly dredge the slices in flour, shaking off the excess. In a heavy skillet with high sides, pour the olive oil to a depth of 1/4 inch. Heat the oil until it is hot but not smoking.
• Fry the eggplant slices in 1 layer, turning once as they brown and adding more oil as necessary. As the slices brown and become tender, remove them, using tongs, to paper towels to drain.
• To assemble the timbale, use a 2-quart souffle dish or springform pan. Arrange just enough eggplant slices in an overlapping pattern, radiating from the center, so that the eggplant comes about halfway up the sides, and covers the bottom of the dish. Place more eggplant slices, vertically, in a slightly overlapping fashion(from where the first slices end), up and over the sides of the dish, and overhanging the edge.
• Cover the bottom layer of eggplant with 3 to 4 tablespoons of the tomato sauce, then sprinkle over a few tablespoons each grated Parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Cover the sauce with a layer of eggplant, cutting the pieces to fit if necessary.
• Continue layering with sauce, Parmesan, mozzarella and eggplant until all the eggplant slices are used, and ending with eggplant, sauce and Parmesan, no mozzarella.
• Using a knife, make incisions through the layers of eggplant. Pour the beaten eggs over the layered eggplant, making sure the eggs seep through and around the layers. Fold over the eggplant slices from the sides, to create the final layer.
• Bake the timbale until the eggs are set and the timbale is bubbling hot, about 40 minutes.
• Cool the timbale at least 15 minutes before unmolding. Invert the dish onto a serving plate and unmold. Serve at room temperature.

EGGPLANT PASTA TIMBALE

Steps:

• 1 Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices. Sprinkle the slices generously with salt and place them in a colander to drain at least 30 minutes. Rinse the slices and blot dry. 2 Heat 1/4-inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Fry the slices a few at a time until lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. 3 Pour the oil into a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and sausage meat. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. 4 Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low heat 20 minutes. Add the peas and cook 10 minutes more or until the sauce is thickened. 5 Bring at least 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add 2 tablespoons of salt, then the pasta. Stir well. Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is tender but still very firm. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Let cool 5 minutes. 6 Line a 4-quart ovenproof bowl or baking dish with foil, pressing it smoothly against the sides. Brush the foil with olive oil. Starting in the center of the bowl, arrange half the eggplant slices, overlapping slightly against the inside and reserving a few slices for the top. 7 Add the mozzarella, grated cheese, salami, and basil to the pan with the pasta and toss well. Add half the pasta to the prepared bowl, being careful not to disturb the eggplant. Arrange the egg slices over the pasta. Top with the remaining pasta and the reserved eggplant slices. Press down lightly. 8 Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake 45 to 60 minutes, or until hot in the center, 140°F measured on an instantread thermometer. (Exact baking time will depend on the diameter of the bowl.) 9 Let the timbale stand 15 minutes. Invert the bowl onto a serving plate. Remove the bowl and gently peel off the foil. Serve immediately. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TIMBALE OF EGGPLANT AND GROUND LAMB

Steps:

• Trim the ends from the eggplant, and peel it--here's the tricky part--in five, long peels, using a large knife--the easiest way is to stand the eggplant on end, mark the other end in fifths and saw off the skin, allowing some pulp to be attached.
• Cube the remaining eggplant and grill or roast it lightly (this instead of saute-ing which uses much more oil).
• In a large skillet, heat the oil and then saute the eggplant peels, skin side UP, by covering the pan and cooking over moderate heat about five minutes, or until the pulp is lightly browned.
• Remove the slices and allow them to cool slightly.
• Arrange them in a one and a half quart round baking dish star fashion, with the narrow end in the center of the bowl and the wide end hanging over the top edge; the five pieces of peel should be equidistant from each other and should overlap in the bottom.
• Set aside.
• In the warm skillet, saute the onion and garlic until lightly browned, then add the grilled or roasted eggplant and combine with the 3 tablespoons of tomato paste and the allspice and cinnamon. Season to taste with salt and pepper, mix well, remove from heat and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Mix the ground lamb with the paprika and tomato paste and, if you like some salt and pepper.
• Wet your hands, and, little by little, press the lamb onto the bowl, on top of the peels and without disturbing the pattern formed by the peels; the inside of the bowl should be completely covered with the lamb mixture, though it need not come all the way to the rim of the bowl.
• Spoon the reserved eggplant/onion mixture into the meat -lined bowl and fold the ends of the eggplant peel over the top.
• Cover the bowl closely with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the bowl rest for 15 minutes before removing the foil.
• Invert carefully onto a platter and serve, surrounded by rice or orzo and accompanied by a tomato sauce.