Pasta Timballo Layered With Eggplant Bolognese Ragu Hardboiled Egg And Scamorza Cheese Food

EGGPLANT TIMBALE-TIMBALLO DI MELANZANE

Steps:

• MAKE THE SAUCE:
• In medium size sauce pan or a Dutch oven heat the oil on medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes more. Next, add the beef and sauté, stirring frequently.
• Break up any large lumps and cook until meat is no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Add the wine and stir together and let it evaporate. Add the tomatoes and basil and cook over medium low heat until the sauce thickens. Add in the peas and stir together. Season with salt and pepper and simmer.
• I simmer my ragu' (Bolognese sauce/meat sauce) for about 2 hours. Add additional water if necessary for desired consistency while it's simmering to thin it out a little. You could make this a day (or two) ahead.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the pasta water and boil the pasta until it's about 2 minutes from al dente.
• If you cooked the sauce a day or two ahead, remove from the refrigerator and reheat it (this will make it much easier to combine with the cooked pasta).
• While the sauce is simmering, prep the eggplant slices.
• EGGPLANT:
• Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or pre-heat a gas or charcoal grill.
• Slice the eggplants vertically to about 1/4-inch thick slices. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the eggplant slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Grill the eggplants until colored with grill marks and tender, about 4-5 minutes per side. You want nice golden slices.
• Set aside the grilled eggplant slices on a baking sheet or a large dish spaced out nicely.
• If you are using sauce that was cooked a day or two before, heat it in a sauce pan on a low simmer while you grill the eggplant.
• Once the pasta is ready, drain it and add to the bowl. Spoon enough sauce onto the pasta enough to cover and stir together to combine. If you are adding any cheese (regular or dairy-free), add it in now. Toss everything to coat (and if you're using cheese, make sure the cheese is distributed everywhere).
• ASSEMBLE:
• Brush a springform pan with olive oil.
• Layer the bottom of the pan with the longest eggplant slices from the bottom and going over the edge of the spring form pan (so it can be folded over the top later), hanging outside of the pan (make sure there are no open spaces, should be covered with eggplant).
• Spoon the pasta mixture on top of the layered eggplant slices.
• Next, fold over the draped slices of eggplant to cover the pasta making sure the whole top is covered. You will have some extra eggplant slices, so use any extra pieces to cover up any open spaces.
• Place the springform pan on a baking dish (this is just in case of any drips through the pan and also makes it easier to take out of oven). Bake for 30 minute.
• Remove the tray from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes or so. As soon as it cools down enough, put on some kitchen gloves, and release the side of the pan.
• Next, place your serving plate over the top of the timblale and carefully flip it over (it's one swift move, so make sure you're steady when you flip).
• Remove the bottom of the springform pan. Use a very sharp knife and slice into portions and serve. Enjoy!

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.

TIMBALLO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Cook the pasta sheets in boiling, salted water until al dente. Shock the pasta in cold water. Lay the pasta out onto a clean kitchen towel and dry.
• Take 1/2 of the melted butter and coat the bottom a 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan. Place a layer of pasta to cover bottom of pan. Ladle a thin layer of tomato sauce over the pasta, and sprinkle with 1/4 of the mozzarella. Add another layer of pasta sheets over the cheese. Ladle a thin layer of bechamel sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle 1/4 of the ground veal and 1/4 of the Parmigiano evenly over the bechamel. Repeat layering, until there are 3 layers of each. Add the final layer of fresh pasta and cover top layer with the remaining mozzarella, veal, Parmigiano and tomato sauce. Finally, ladle the remaining 1/4 cup of melted butter over the top and cover the pan with aluminum foil.
• Bake approximately 30 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
• Saute the onion in olive oil until brown. Add the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Crush tomatoes with a fork as they soften. Season with salt and pepper and add basil. Simmer for about 1 hour.
• Bring the milk to a simmer in a saucepot. In a saute pan, combine the melted butter with the flour to make roux. Whisk the milk into the roux. Bring to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Melt the butter in a saute pan. Add the veal and cook until brown and cooked through. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Drain off excess liquid and set aside.

EGGPLANT BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook pork sausage, breaking it onto smaller pieces with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add ground beef; cook and stir until beef is browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
• Pour remaining olive oil over sausage mixture; add eggplant, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Cook and stir until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add mushrooms and continuing cooking until tender, about 5 minutes.
• Mix crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, parsley, oregano, and basil into sausage mixture; bring to a boil. Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.

TIMBALLO

Steps:

• For meat sauce:
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté sausage, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add onion and bay leaf and sauté, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add carrot, celery, and salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute, then add wine and deglaze by boiling, scraping up any brown bits, until most of liquid is evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add tomato purée and sugar and boil, stirring frequently, until thickened, 8 to 10 minutes. Cool sauce and discard bay leaf.
• For pasta:
• Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling until al dente, then transfer with a skimmer to a colander to drain (do not rinse), reserving water in pot to cook chard. Cool pasta, spread in a baking pan, to warm.
• For chard in béchamel sauce:
• Add chard to pot and simmer, uncovered, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes, then transfer with skimmer to a bowl of ice and cold water. Drain chard and squeeze handfuls, then finely chop.
• Heat butter in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then add garlic and cook, whisking, 1 minute. Add flour and cook, whisking, 1 minute, then add milk in a slow stream, whisking. Bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chard, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano, then remove pan from heat.
• Assemble and bake timballo:
• Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
• Oil soufflé dish and line bottom with a round of parchment paper, then oil parchment. Cover bottom of dish with a single layer of pasta. Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella and 3 tablespoons Parmigiano over pasta, then spoon half of meat sauce in an even layer over cheese. Arrange one third of remaining pasta over meat sauce in soufflé dish and top with all of chard, then another layer of pasta (about half of remainder). Sprinkle with remainder of cheeses, then spoon remaining meat sauce over cheese. Top with remaining pasta. (You may have pasta left over.) Cover pasta with an oiled round of parchment (oiled side down) and cover dish with foil.
• Bake in a in wide 6- to 8-quart pot until bubbling and a metal skewer or thin knife inserted in center of timballo comes out hot to the touch, about 1 hour. Remove soufflé dish from water bath and let stand, covered, 15 minutes. Remove foil and parchment and run a knife around edge of timballo to loosen, then invert a platter over soufflé dish and invert timballo onto platter. Remove soufflé dish and remaining parchment.