Timballo di Anelletti | Sicilian Baked Pasta Recipe

If you love lasagna but want something that stands out a little more, then this is the dish for you. Timballo di Anelletti is a round, drum-shaped baked pasta made with an unusual pasta shape: Anelli Siciliani (they look like SpaghettiOs).

Timballo di Anelletti | Sicilian Baked Pasta Recipe

There are a few different versions of this timballo in Sicily, but here we’ve chosen to share a recipe where it is lined with fried eggplant slices and stuffed with cheese, eggs, and Sicilian ragù.

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TIMBALLO DI ANELLETTI RECIPE

Makes: Serves 6 to 8

Cook Time: 2 ½ hours

For this recipe, you will need:

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ large carrot, diced

• ½ white onion, diced

• 1 celery rib, diced

• 2 to 3 bay leaves

• 1 pound (450 g) ground beef and/or pork

• A pinch of ground nutmeg

• A pinch of ground cloves

• Fresh black pepper

• Salt

• ½ cup (120 ml) white wine

• 1 tablespoon (15 g) tomato paste

• 28 ounces (800 g) tomato puree

• 1 cup (150 g) frozen peas

• Oil for frying (preferably extra-virgin olive oil)

• 3 large eggplants

• 12 ounces (340 g) Anelli Siciliani pasta

• Dry bread crumbs, to taste

• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

• 4.5 ounces (125 g) mozzarella cheese, chopped

• Grated Sicilian caciocavallo or pecorino Romano cheese, to taste

Begin by cooking the ragù: fill the bottom of a large, heavy pot with a thin layer of olive oil. Over medium heat, add the diced carrot, onion and celery, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onion is slightly tender and transparent. Stir in the bay leaves and add the ground meat.

Break up the meat into a crumble and sauté until browned. Season the meat with the ground nutmeg, ground cloves, and a big pinch of pepper and salt. Stir in the tomato paste, followed by the tomato puree.

Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer over medium/low heat and lightly salt it. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Add the frozen peas and continue to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the ragù thickens slightly. Salt the sauce to taste as it nears completion. When the ragù is done, turn off the heat and set it aside for later.

While the ragù cooks, you can fry the eggplants. Fill a deep pan with about 3 inches (7.5 cm) of frying oil and heat over medium/high heat. Cube one of the eggplants into small chunks. Slice the other 2 eggplants into lengthwise slices, about ⅓ inch (85 mm) thick.

When the oil is hot, carefully drop in the eggplant chunks (you can work in batches if using a smaller pan) and fry until the begin to turn golden. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel to drain and lightly salt the eggplant chunks.

Repeat the above steps to fry the eggplant slices, working in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan.

Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it generously. Add the anelli pasta and boil it for half of the recommended “al dente” cook time (i.e. if the box recommends 12 minutes, cook it for 6). Drain the cooked pasta and transfer it into a large mixing bowl. Ladle most of the ragù (reserve a few ladlefuls for later) into the pasta and stir all together.

The easiest way to cook this timballo is in a round springform mold (about 9 inches in diameter and 2.5 inches tall, or 23 x 6.5 cm). This allows you to remove the mold without having to flip the timballo. However, it’s crucial that you have a high-quality springform that won’t leak, otherwise you’ll have a messy, smoky oven. If you aren’t confident in the springform seal, you can use a similarly sized conventional tin or baking dish and flip the finished timballo (more on that later).

Preheat the oven to 400° F (205° C).

Brush the bottom of your springform mold with olive oil and dust it with dry bread crumbs. Drape fried eggplant slices along the sides of the dish, letting them overlap slightly and overhang over the top edges of the dish. Place more slices along the bottom of the pan. The result should be that the bottom and sides of the dish are completely covered in a layer of eggplant slices.

Place half of the sauced pasta into the dish and spread the layer of pasta flat. On top of the pasta, evenly spread the chopped hard boiled eggs and the cubed eggplants. Spread the remaining ragù over the eggplants. Finish the stuffing with the chopped mozzarella and a generous grating of cheese.

Fill the dish with the remaining sauced pasta. Don’t be afraid to use your hands to press it all in flat—ideally the pasta should reach right up to the rim of the dish. Cover the pasta with the remaining eggplants slices—you can fold in the overhanging slices that line the sides to make a complete seal.

Top the assembled timballo with a dusting of bread crumbs, a grating of cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Let the timballo cool for 15 minutes.

Carefully and gently run a thin knife between the sides of the timballo and the baking dish to make sure the eggplants aren’t stuck. If using a springform, simply open and remove the mold. If using a conventional baking dish, place a cutting board on top of the timballo, carefully flip it, then lift the dish off.

Serve immediately. Buon appetito!