Timballo Explained

Timballo
Country:Italy

Timballo is an Italian baked dish consisting of pasta, rice or potatoes, with one or more other ingredients (cheese, meat, fish, vegetables, or fruit) included.[1] [2] Variations include the mushroom and shrimp sauce timballo Alberoni, named after Giulio Alberoni, and the veal and tomato sauce timballo pattadese.

Etymology

The name comes from the French word for 'kettledrum' (timbale).[1] Varieties of timballo differ from region to region, and it is sometimes known as a bomba, tortino, sartù (a type of Neapolitan timballo with rice and tomato sauce) or pasticcio (which is used more commonly to refer to a similar dish baked in a pastry crust).[1] It is also known as timpano[3] and timbale. It is similar to a casserole and is sometimes referred to in English as a pie or savory cake.[1]

Preparation

The dish is prepared in a dome or springform pan and eggs or cheese are used as a binder.[1] Rice is commonly used as an ingredient in Emilia-Romagna, where the dish is referred to as a bomba and baked with a filling of pigeon or other game bird, peas, local cheese and a base of dried pasta.[1] Crêpes are used as a base in Abruzzo, and other regions use ravioli or gnocchi.[1] In Sicily, it is typically made with pasta and eggplant.[4]

Mushroom sauce or fonduta, a rich Piedmontese cheese soup and sauce, are sometimes used, and Anna Del Conte wrote that béchamel is the most consistently used ingredient in timballo.[1] [5]

In popular culture

Timballo featured prominently in the 1996 film Big Night, although the dish there is referred to as timpano (a regional or family term).[1] [6] [7]

In December 2020, The Washington Post reported that making timpano is a Christmas tradition in Anthony Fauci's household.[8]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: With timballo, any night is big. Regina. Schrambling. January 11, 2006. August 4, 2009. Los Angeles Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20081228045651/http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-timballo11jan11,1,52062,full.story. dead. December 28, 2008.
  2. News: . . . And in the Starring Role: The Timballo!. September 25, 1996. August 4, 2009. Nancy. McKeon. Washington Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026092207/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-794495.html. dead. October 26, 2012.
  3. Web site: Arthur Schwartz's Timballo di Tagliolini (Pastry Drum With Fine Egg Pasta) recipe on StarChefs. www.starchefs.com. 2015-11-28.
  4. Web site: Zeldes . Leah A. . Leah A. Zeldes . Eat this! Timballo Siciliano, something different to do with pasta . Dining Chicago . Chicago's Restaurant & Entertainment Guide, Inc. . 2010-12-01 . 2011-05-18 . 2017-10-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171026214125/http://www.diningchicago.com/blog/2010/12/01/eat-this-timballo-siciliano-something-different-to-do-with-pasta/ . dead .
  5. Book: Del Conte, Anna. Anna Del Conte. Gastronomy of Italy. 2004. Pavilion Books. 978-1862059580.
  6. Book: Marchetti , Domenica . Susie Cushner . Big Night In: More Than 100 Wonderful Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style . Chronicle Books . 2008 . 99 . registration . 978-0-8118-5929-5.
  7. Book: Kasper , Lynne Rossetto . Susie Cushner . The Italian Country Table: Home Cooking from Italy's Farmhouse Kitchens . Simon and Schuster . 1999 . 100 . 978-0-684-81325-7.
  8. News: Achenbach . Joel . 2020-12-23 . Fauci’s Christmas Eve: Turning 80 and fighting the pandemic . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-07-31 . 0190-8286.