Vegetable Timbales Food

TIMBALLO GENOVESE

Steps:

• For the sauce: Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil. Season the meat evenly with 1/2 teaspoon salt and add to the hot pan. Cook until the meat is deep brown on the first side, about 4 minutes. Flip and continue to cook until deep, dark brown, an additional 3 minutes on each side. Remove the meat to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and an additional 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir with a wooden spoon, scraping up all the bits from the bottom and coating the onions in the oil from the pan. Cook the onions, stirring often, until deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Add the garlic, carrots and celery and cook until fragrant and soft, another 2 minutes. Clear a little space in the pan so you can see the bottom. Add the tomato paste to that spot and toast the paste, stirring often, until deep red, about 2 minutes. Stir the paste into the vegetables and deglaze with the Marsala. Simmer for 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Place the meat back into the pan and add 3 cups water to cover three-quarters of the way. Nestle the Parmesan rind into the sauce. Reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid just slightly ajar and simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until slightly reduced and the onions are practically melted into the sauce, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Remove the piece of meat and the cheese rind. Discard the rind and save the beef for another use. Using a handheld immersion blender, pulse the sauce to even out the consistency. Stir in the butter until combined. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the sauce and reserve for the assembly.
• For the meatballs: Preheat the broiler to high.
• Mix together the milk, bread and egg with a fork in a medium bowl and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the Parmesan, oregano and salt. Using your hands, mix in the beef until just combined. With damp hands, scoop 1/2-teaspoon mounds and roll into uniform balls. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until browned, about 7 minutes. Set aside.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• For the filling: Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and bacon and cook, stirring often, until the bacon is crispy and browned, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Stir in the peas and salt and remove from the heat.
• For the assembly: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season well with salt. Add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes. Using tongs, remove the pasta from the water and add directly to the sauce in the Dutch oven. Sprinkle the bare pasta with 1 1/2 cups Parmesan and toss well with the sauce. Add 1/2 cup pasta water to loosen slightly and help the sauce coat the pasta, if needed.
• Using the tongs, place half of the sauced pasta in the bottom of a springform pan. Spread 1/2 cup of the reserved sauce on top of the pasta. Sprinkle with the smoked provolone. Follow with the pea mixture, then the meatballs. Sprinkle the meatballs with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Press down slightly to pack. Top with the remaining pasta and 1 cup reserved sauce. Press gently to compress. Top the pasta with the remaining 1 cup Parmesan.
• Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until golden brown on top, 50 to 60 minutes. Allow the timbale to rest for 30 minutes before running a knife around the edge and unmolding. Slice with a thin, sharp knife to serve.

VEGETABLE TIMBALES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare 1 batch of corn custard and set aside. Dry roast all the vegetable rounds until wrinkly, but not too brown. Let cool. Meanwhile, spray 8 souffle dishes with pan coating. Line the edges of the dishes with the leeks horizontally. Arrange 3 to 4 carrot rounds on the bottom of each dish making a "flower." Follow layers in this order: zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, yellow squash, and red peppers. Place the rounds in concentric circles fully covering the previous layer.
• Ladle the corn custard over the entire timbale. Once the custard is up to the lip, cover with spinach leaves. Press the leaves lightly into the custard to coat.
• Cover with foil and bake until the custards reach a temperature of 150 degrees F.
• Put corn in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, just enough to blend and add to the corn. Add the remaining ingredients and blend. Pour over timbales and bake.

WARM GOAT-CHEESE TIMBALES

Steps:

• Make timbales:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly oil ramekins and line bottoms with rounds of wax paper. oil paper.
• Blend goat cheese and butter in a food processor until smooth. Add remaining timbale ingredients and salt and pepper to taste, then blend well. Pour into ramekins, filling them about three-quarters full.
• Bake timbales in a water bath in middle of oven until pale golden and slightly puffed and a knife inserted in centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer ramekins to a rack and cool 10 minutes.
• Prepare salad:
• Whisk together lemon juice and shallot in a large bowl, then let stand 10 minutes. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until well blended. Season with salt and pepper, then toss with mesclun. Divide salad among individual plates.
• Run a knife around edge of each timbale to loosen, then invert each onto a salad. Remove paper from timbales and serve.

SPINACH AND MILLET TIMBALE WITH TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Butter a 2-quart soufflé dish or 6 1-cup ramekins, making sure to butter the bottoms generously, and place them in a baking pan that is deep enough so that you can fill it with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the mold or ramekins.
• Beat the eggs in a large bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients (I usually season with 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of kosher salt). Scrape into the molds, filling them a little more than halfway full.
• Add boiling water to the baking pan, enough to come halfway up the sides of the molds. Place in the oven and bake for 5 minutes, then lower the heat to 325 degrees. Bake small molds for another 40 minutes, or until set and a skewer inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Large timbales will take between 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Make sure the water bath does not boil.
• Remove the timbales from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes while you heat the tomato sauce.
• Spoon about 3 to 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce onto each plate if you made individual timbales. Run a knife around the edges of the ramekins and unmold onto the plates. If serving 1 large timbale unmold onto a platter and cut into wedges.

CABBAGE AND RICOTTA TIMBALE

Steps:

• Heat the butter over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet and add onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add cabbage and salt to taste and cook, stirring often, until cabbage is tender but not browned, about 15 minutes. Stir in dill, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and pepper. Taste and adjust salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter 4 1-cup ramekins or a 1- or 1-1/2-quart soufflé dish. Place the ramekins or soufflé dish in a baking pan.
• Beat eggs in a large bowl and beat in ricotta. Stir in cabbage filling. Add salt to taste and freshly ground pepper. Divide evenly among the ramekins. Fill the baking dish with hot water to at least halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake individual ramekins for 40 to 45 minutes, a larger soufflé or gratin for 50 to 60 minutes, until set and lightly colored. Turn off the oven and prop open the door with a wooden spoon. Leave for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven. Let sit for another 10 minutes or longer. Serve from the dish, or unmold.

VEGETABLE TIMBALES

Steps:

• Preheat oven broiler. Cut peppers in half and remove seeds and membranes. Place, skin side up, on baking sheet under hot broiler, until skin blackens and blisters. Cool and peel away skin.
• Steam the carrots until they are soft. Drain.
• Wash watercress and put in sauce pan with just the water clinging to the leaves. Cover pan and steam watercress for 2 minutes. Drain, cool and squeeze dry with your hands.
• Puree each vegetable individually in food processor, adding a third of the cream to the carrots to make a smooth puree.
• Pour the pepper puree into a small sauce pan and stir over moderate heat until thickened.
• Put each puree into its own bowl to cool. Divide remaining cream between pepper and watercress purees.
• Butter 4 timbale molds. Preheat oven to 325°F
• Stir 2 egg yolks into each puree. Divide last yolk between watercress and pepper purees. Season each with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
• Divide carrot puree equally among timbale molds. Smooth the surface. Repeat with watercress puree. Smooth surface and repeat with pepper puree.
• Put the molds in a roasting pan and pour hot water around molds, about half-way up sides of molds.
• Bake 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
• Remove molds from pan and cool slightly on wire rack.
• To serve, hold plate on top of each timbale and then turn it upside down. Give the plate and timbale a sharp shake and timbale should release itself.
• Serve warm with salad and baguette.

LESSONS WORTH SAVORING SPINACH TIMBALES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Place one tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add the spinach, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring for 3 or 4 minutes. Remove spinach from skillet, drain and keep warm.
• In the same skillet, add one tablespoon of butter and the leeks, and cook over high heat, stirring, until the leeks are wilted.
• Add the mushrooms to the pan, and salt and pepper to taste. Return the spinach to the skillet, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Adjust seasonings, set aside and keep warm.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cream and nutmeg, and beat well with a whisk.
• Grease four aluminum molds ( 1/3-cup capacity) with the remaining butter. Distribute the leak, spinach and mushroom mixture evenly in the molds. Place them in a deep skillet. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in the molds. Add warm water around the molds to about 1/2-inch depth; then, cover them with aluminum foil.
• Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and keep warm. To serve, unmold onto the plates holding the roast duck.