A Big Night of Timpano

Timpano alla Big Night


What's a timpano? The best explanation is from Primo in Big Night (played by Tony Schalhoub):

"Timpano is a pasta with a special crust...And it’s shaped like a drum, like a timpany drum. And here inside are the most important things in the world."

Those most important things are cheese, pasta, ragu, meatballs, salami, and more cheese. This one's not for the faint-hearted.





The exciting part of making this dish is that now I have joined the Big Night timpano club, the group of people who watched the film and thought to themsevles for whatever reason, 'I need to make that.' I read stories, saw countless 'timpano ordeal' photos, and found copies of similar recipes on several blogs. I urge anyone interested in food, Italian food, cyber-love stories, or love stories in general to read my favorite blog about the famous timpano.


I made my timpano on my last day in San Diego before returning to the oh-so-cold Ohio. I woke up at 6AM to start my ragu, and wasn't done with the dish until 6pm, when I absolutely had to start packing. For my last Screen to Table January Term experiement, il timpano, I worked from Stanley Tucci's mother's recipe in Cucina & Famiglia (the recipes below include my revisions). The most difficult parts of the timpano are one, finding the right pan, and two, preparing the fillings. For the first challenge, I considered ordering an 'official' timpano pan on ebay, but chose to head to a thrift store instead. I found an alluminum pan, on the small side for a timpano, but it worked well. I suggest starting with the ragu. As it sautees, you can make the meatballs and the dough, then chop the rest of the ingredients.

Ragu:
1/4 cup olive oil
.75 lb. stewing beef, rinsed, patted dry and in pieces
1 cup chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 can tomato paste
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 cans whole, peeled tomatoes, pureed
3 fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves

Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan set over medium-high heat Sear the stewing beef until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the beef from the pot and set aside in a bowl.

Stir the onions and garlic in the pan. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the wine, scraping the sides of the pan to incorporate the juices. Add the tomato paste. Use about ½ cup of the warm water to loosen extra paste. Cook for about two minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining 1 cup water. Stir in the basil and oregano. Cover with the lid partly askew and simmer for 30 minutes.

Return the meat to the pot, along with its juices that have accumulated in the bowl. Cover with the lid partly askew and simmer, stirring frequently until the tomatoes are cooked, about 2 hours. Warm water may be added if the sauce becomes too thick.


Polpette (Meatballs) - this one’s really not for vegetarians - sorry Obies

Ten slices Italian bread
1 lb. ground beef chuck
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
3 leaves basil, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
5 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Allow bread slices to dry for a couple days. If you are like me and don’t prep days in advance for cooking projects, place your bread slices in the oven until dried out. Place the dried bread in a bowl and cover with warm water until soft, about 5 minutes.

In another bowl, combine the meat, parsley, basil, garlic, egg, cheese, salt and pepper to taste, using your hands to mix the ingredients. Remove and discard the crust from the bread pieces. Squeeze the water out of the bread, and break into small pieces. Add the bred to the meat and work it into the mixture until they are equally combined and the mixture holds together.

Scoop out a tablespoon of the meat mixture. Roll it between the palm of your hands to form a ball. Cook one meatball until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Once cooked, taste the meatball and if needed, adjust the seasoning of the remaining mixture. Cook the meatballs in small batches and place finished meatballs on a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil.

Il Timpano: these numbers are adjusted because I had a ton of leftover filling
This is such a fun process, like making a giant cup, and, as Primo says, filling it with some of the most important things in the world.

Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup cold water



Filling:
2 cups Genoa salami, diced
2 cups sharp provolone cheese cubes*
4 hard boiled eggs, cut into eighths (the Tucci recipe calls for more, but I had a small pan)
meatballs (above)
ragu (above)
1 pound ziti, cooked al dente (have some extra on hand, but for a small pan, this should be enough)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup finely grated pecorino romano cheese*

*I used these cheeses because they were in the recipe, but I was not a fan of the bite of the provolone. I suggest instead mozzarella and parmesan, or a mix.

To make the dough, place the flour, eggs, salt, and olive oil in a large-capacity food processor (or a mixer with a pastry hook). Add 3 tablespoons of water and process. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together and forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead to make sure it was well mixed. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Flatten the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour and roll it out, flipping occasionally, until it is about 1/16 inch thick and the desired diameter for your pan.

Generously grease the timpano baking pan with butter and olive oil. Fold the dough in half and then half again to form a triangle, and place the triangle in the pan. Open the dough to arrange in the pan, gently pressing it against the bottom and the sides, draping extra dough over the sides. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare the filling, have all the insides ready at room temperature. Toss the drained pasta with olive oil and 2 cups of ragu. Coat the bottom of the timpano with a layer of pasta. Top with salami, provolone, hard boiled eggs, meatballs and romano cheese. Pour ragu over these ingredients. Top with another layer of pasta, then the other fillings, repeating the layers. Top with remaining pasta (the ingredients should be about inch below the rim of the pot---oops mine was overflowing!). Spoon a final layer of ragu over the pasta. Fold the pasta dough over the filling ot seal completely. Trim away double layers of dough.

Bake until lightly browned, about 1 hour. Then cover with aluminum foil and continue baking until the timpano is cooked through and the dough is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 30 or more minutes (you’ll be surprised how long it stays hot in there). The baked timpano should not stick to the pan. To be sure, carefully run a knife along the sides before inverting. Place a large plate or serving dish on top of the timpano. Carefully flip both the plate and the timpano. Allow the timpano to continue to cool. To serve, cut the timpano as you would a pie, leaving the center circle as a support for the remaining slices.