Italian Timballo baked

Ingredients

• 500 g Pasta (penne or rigatoni) (cooked 2 min before al dente cooking)
• 500 ml Tomato passata (or tomato coulis)
• 1 unité Onion (peeled and finely chopped)
• 3 c. à soupe Olive oil (for sautéing the onion)
• 150 g Frozen peas (added to the sauce at the end of cooking)
• 100 g Stale bread (cut into cubes and rehydrated with water)
• 2 c. à soupe Flat parsley (finely chopped)
• 1 unité Garlic clove (crushed and chopped)
• 100 g Mortadella (cut into very small dice)
• 300 g Ground meat (beef‑pork) (for the meatballs)
• 70 g Grated Parmesan (plus extra for finishing)
• 1 unité Egg (to bind the filling)
• 250 g Mozzarella (drained, pressed to remove excess water)
• 30 g Butter (to grease the pan)
• 100 g Breadcrumbs (for the bottom and sides of the pan)
• à goût Salt
• à goût Black pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare the tomato sauce

   Sauté the chopped onion in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the passata, season with salt and pepper, then simmer covered for 10 minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and cook an additional 2 minutes.

   Time: PT15M

2. Rehydrate the stale bread

   Cut the stale bread into cubes, place in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let absorb for 5 minutes, then squeeze with your hands to remove as much water as possible.

   Time: PT5M

3. Prepare the meatball filling

   In a food processor or by hand, finely chop the parsley and garlic. In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, rehydrated bread, diced mortadella, parsley, garlic, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Knead until you obtain a homogeneous filling.

   Time: PT22M

4. Shape and cook the meatballs

   Form meatballs the size of a hazelnut. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in the non‑stick skillet and cook the meatballs over medium heat, turning regularly, until golden (about 10 minutes). Set aside on paper towels.

   Time: PT10M

5. Par‑cook the pasta

   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook 2 minutes less than the time indicated on the package, so they remain firm inside the timballo. Drain and rinse with cold water.

   Time: PT8M

6. Prepare the pan

   Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 22 cm springform pan. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and tap to evenly coat the bottom and edges.

   Time: PT5M

7. Assemble the timballo

   Pour half of the pasta into the pan and press down with the back of a spoon. Add the previously pressed and drained mozzarella, then distribute the cooked meatballs (without sauce). Cover with the remaining pasta, press again, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan and dot with a few small pieces of butter.

   Time: PT10M

8. Bake

   Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bake the timballo for 40 minutes until the top is nicely golden.

   Time: PT40M

   Temperature: 180°C

9. Cool

   Remove the timballo from the oven and let rest at least 30 minutes at room temperature before unmolding.

   Time: PT30M

10. Unmold and garnish

    Carefully run a thin spatula around the pan, flip the timballo onto a serving plate. Arrange the reserved meatballs with a little tomato sauce in the center of the bottom, add a few peas for garnish.

    Time: PT5M

Nutrition Facts

Calories

460

Protein

22 g

Carbohydrates

45 g

Fat

20 g

Fiber

3 g