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Timballo teramano

Timballo Teramano

A festive lasagna made with crepes from Abruzzo
Total Time2 hours
Course: Primo
Cuisine: Abruzzo
Keyword: baked, holidays, pasta
Servings: 6

Ingredients

To make the scrippelle

  • 6 6 eggs
  • 6 Tbs flour
  • 1 tsp oil
  • About 250ml (1 cup) water or enough to make very thin batter
  • A pinch of salt

To make the tiny meatballs

  • 500g 1 lb ground meat usually beef, or a mix of equal parts beef and pork
  • 1 egg
  • 25g 1 oz parmigiano-reggiano grated
  • 1-2 Tbs breadcrumbs only if and as needed
  • Salt and pepper

For the tomato sauce

  • 1 small onion finely minced
  • 1 large bottle tomato passata about 700ml/24 fl oz
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper

For the 'bagnata

  • 2 eggs
  • 4 Tbs milk

To finish the dish

  • 1 ball mozzarella (or scamorza) about 250g (1/2 lb), cut into small dice or sliced
  • Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano and/or pecorino q.b.
  • Butter q.b.

Instructions

To make the scrippelle

  • Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl, then add the flour bit by bit, whisking all the time until you have a rather thick uniform batter. As you continue whisking, drizzle in the oil and then enough water so that the batter attains the consistency of light cream. Whisk in a good pinch of salt.
  • Let the batter rest for a good 30 minutes or more at room temperature. 
  • Heat the oil in a small or medium nonstick skillet. When the pan is hot, drizzle in a bit of oil, then pour on a small ladleful of the batter (about 1/4 cup) and swirl it around so it very thinly covers the bottom of the pan.
  • Let the batter set, and when it just barely begins to brown around the edges, it should come loose when you shake the pan. Flip it over and let it cook very briefly on the other side. The whole operation should take less than one minute. Remove the resulting crêpe aka scrippella to a dish.
  • Repeat until you’ve used up all the batter. Set your scripelle aside until needed.

Making the tiny meatballs

  • In a large bowl, mix together the minced meats, eggs, grated cheese, salt and pepper until you have a uniform paste.
  • The mixture should be firm and not at all sticky. If it is, mix in a spoonful or two of breadcrumbs to stiffen it up. Be quick, and try not to overwork the mixture.
  • Grease your hands with a few drops of oil, then take small pinch of the meat mixture and roll it between the palms of your hands to form a tiny ball about 1 cm (1/2 inch) in diameter. Repeat until you've used up the mixture.
  • Heat a wide skillet over a medium-high flame and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom. Toss in the meatballs, as many as will fit in a single layer without crowding. Fry the meatballs until lightly brown, shaking the skillet frequently to roll them over so they brown evenly on all sides.
  • Repeat as needed. Set the browned meatballs aside until needed.

Preparing the tomato sauce

  • In a saucepan, sauté the minced onion in abundant olive oil until soft and translucent.
  • Add the tomato passata and a pinch of salt. Simmer for about 15 minutes or so.
  • Add the meatballs (if you're a glutton like me, along with their frying oil) and continue simmering for another 15 minutes.

Making the 'bagnata'

  • In a small bowl, whisk the egg and milk together until smooth and set aside until needed.

Assembling the timballo

  • Take a baking dish or, if you prefer, a round mold, and grease it well with olive oil.
  • Line the bottoms and sides with scripelle. The one that line the sides hang over the sides by half.
  • Moisten the scripelle at the bottom with a thin layer of the bagnata.
  • Spoon a layer of the sauce with its tiny meatballs (and, if using, peas) then dot with mozzarella and sprinkle with the grated cheeses.
  • Lay down another layer of scripelle, this time covering just the sauce and other filling ingredients, not the sides. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of the bagnata, then spoon over another layer of the sauce and the other ingredients.
  • Repeat until you've used up the filling ingredients. (You should have at least four layers total.)
  • Fold the scripelle that are hanging over the sides of the dish or mold towards the middle. If the filling ingredients are still showing, lay over one or more scripelle to cover the gap. Moisten once again with the bagnata.

Baking and serving

  • Top the last layer of scripelle with some tomato sauce (without meatballs), then sprinkle with the grated cheeses and dot with butter.
  • Bake the timballo in a moderate (180C/350F) oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, until cooked through and golden brown on top.
  • Let the timballo rest for about 15-20 minutes before serving.