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Pasta, Rice, Beans |
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INGREDIENTS:
For meat sauce
1 1/2 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage meat (remove casings if in links)
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery rib finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs tomato paste
1/2 cp dry red wine
1 (14 to 15 oz) can whole tomatoes in juice forced with juices
through a food mill (1 1/2 cps)
Pinch of sugar
For pasta
3/4 lb ziti
For chard in béchamel sauce
1 lb green Swiss chard stems and center ribs discarded and leaves
coarsely chopped (4
1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tbs all-purpose flour
1 cp whole milk
1/8 tsp white pepper
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cp)
4 oz fresh mozzarella (not unsalted), cut into 1/2" cubes
(scant 1cup)
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DIRECTIONS:
Make 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.
Cook pasta:
Cook pasta in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water 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.
Make 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 water bath 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.
Servings: 12
Note: We've taken the timpano and simplified it into a
timballo, a molded casserole without a pastry crust. For added
flair, arrange the ziti in a decorative pattern as you make the
first layer of the timballo.
Special equipment: a 2-qt soufflé dish; parchment paper; a
6- to 8-qt wide pot
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