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32
L'Italo-Americano
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2019
LA BUONA TAVOLA
RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES
Rich, decadent, delicious: three words to describe a slice of timballo di anelletti (Copyright: Toni Brancatisano)
Continued form page 30
Add the tomato paste and stir
well. Next, add the tomato
"polpa" and the peas. Stir well.
Add the basil and the bay lea-
ves, the salt and pepper.
Cook for 90 minutes on
medium heat, stirring frequently
to avoid the ragù sticks to the
saucepan.
Take 3 of the eggplants and
wash them. Cut off the stalk on
top and then slice vertically,
trying to keep each slice the same
width. (about 4mm). Layer the
slices in a colander and sprinkle
rock salt on each layer. Let sit for
an hour to release bitter juices
from the eggplant.
Wash and slice the remaining
eggplant into cubes, and add to
the colander with salt. After an
hour, rinse the eggplant under
running water and pat dry on a
clean, dry tea towel.
Add olive oil to the bottom of
a large frying pan, and fry all the
eggplant slices in batches on each
side until golden and cooked. Do
the same with the eggplant cubes.
Drain on absorbent kitchen paper.
Boil water in a large saucepan,
add salt and then add the pasta.
Drain after half the cooking time,
and return to the saucepan.
Put 2 cups of the ragù aside
and then add enough ragù to
cover all the pasta well. Stir
through the fried eggplant cubes.
Brush the inside of the round
baking pan with olive oil. Add
the breadcrumbs and shake the
pan to cover the whole internal
part with the breadcrumbs. Tip
out the excess.
Line the pan with the fried
eggplant slices. Fill half the pan
with the pasta. Add the ragù set
aside, and the cheese then fill the
pan with the remaining pasta.
Press down to make it all level.
Sprinkle the top with bread-
crumbs and some olive oil and
then bake in the oven for 30
minutes at 200°C.
Allow to rest for a couple of
minutes. Place a large serving
plate on top of the pan, and
quickly flip it over. Buon
Appetito!
