And another gastronomical delight has been prepared in our kitchen!
Whilst I was diligently working, today, Victor was working as well – in the kitchen making a Timbale. A timbale is something usually wrapped in a pastry or mold – resembling a drum. At our house, the pastry has been replaced by eggplant, and the mold is a springform pan. Ya make do with what ya have…
We have made these in the past… there’s no real recipe, it’s more of a style and procedure than a cup of this and a spoonful of that. Think of a pasta dinner completely encased in an eggplant skin – top, bottom, and sides.
From there, it’s all imagination.
Tonight’s imagination was a fresh tomato sauce with spicy Italian sausage and mini rigatoni.
Eggplant Timbale
- eggplant
- pasta sauce
- rigatoni
- ricotta
- shredded cheese
- olive oil
- bread crumbs
First step is to slice the eggplant and cook it. You can oven-bake, grill, or fry. Victor oven-baked it, today by brushing it with olive oil and cooking it in a 350°F oven for about 25 minutes.
Have your sauce ready. Cook the sausage.
Cook the rigatoni and mix it with the sliced sausage and sauce.
Oil and liberally coat a springform pan with bread crumbs. The breadcrumbs help to release the timbale when it’s cooked.
Line the pan with the cooked eggplant…
Add a layer of ricotta and shredded cheese…
Next, a layer of the sausage and pasta mixture…
More cheeses…
More pasta mixture…
More cheese and then fold the eggplant over the top, pressing down to compact and encasing everything.
A few crumbs on top…
And into a preheated 350°F oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. Add a bit more sauce and cheese to the top midway through.
Remove from the oven and let sit at least 20 minutes before serving.
Cut into wedges, and enjoy!
Totally awesome. Even Nonna cleaned her plate. Rich and filling without being heavy. It hits all of the gastronomic senses.
And if you happen to have some homemade sourdough bread … all the better!
I love a man who can cook!