Christine Dabney > wrote:

> I was looking around the food blogs I read, and I found that Elise, of
> Simply Recipes also has this type of lasagna in her files. She calls
> it Lasagna Bolognese, which confirms what I know, that this is a
> northern Italian variety.
>
> http://elise.com/recipes/archives/00..._bolognese.php

The idea of béchamel use in this very general kind of preparation
perhaps ought to include the Campanian timballo, which is using a sauce
very similar to that of ragù alla bolognese, but is claimed to have been
developed independently of the Bolognese version. Here is an elaborate
recipe, complete with the author's preface, from _Naples at Table_ by
Arthur Schwartz (I actually copied the recipe from
<http://www.starchefs.com/ASchwartz/timballo.html> to save me some
serious typing).

Victor


Timballo di Tagliolini (Pastry Drum With Fine Egg Pasta)
Serves 8 as a main course or the first course of an elaborate menu

There are 15 recipes called timballo or timpano in Jeanne Carola
Francesconi's "La cucina napoletana" (Neapolitan Cooking), which is
often called the bible of Neapolitan cooking. Both words mean the same
thing -- a drum, as in the timpani of a symphony orchestra. A few years
ago, in a movie called "Big Night," the preparation of a timballo di
maccheroni was featured and made a big impression on audiences. Recipes
for timballi ran in newspaper food sections and suddenly the dish came
to the attention of Americans.

Timballo or timpano -- the words are used interchangeably but timballo
is more popular -- are from the aristocratic Monzù tradition, but they
are still made today -- not necessary much by home cooks, but certainly
by caterers and shops that make such elaborate dishes to take away. (At
L.U.I.S.E., the tavola calda on the Piazza dei Martiri, at the heart of
Naples' fancy Chiaia shopping section, you can usually buy some kind of
timballo by the slice and eat it at the counter for lunch.). Pasta of
some kind, ragù, sausage, tiny meatballs, salami, prosciutto, porcini,
green peas, cheeses, hard-cooked eggs, chicken livers -- in short, all
the ingredients that might go into an elaborate baked pasta can also be
layered in a sweetened pastry crust and baked into a free-standing drum.
It makes quite a visual sensation on the dinner table and is extremely
delicious, too.

This particular timballo uses egg pasta instead of macaroni, is based on
a ground meat ragù (ragù di macinato, is how they refer to such a sauce
in Campania) not a classic Neapolitan ragù, and contains white sauce. I
ignorantly considered that these touches might have been borrowed from
Emilia-Romagna, but when I remarked about that possibility to a
Neapolitan friend, she got in a huff. "You think only the Bolognese know
how to make egg pasta and white sauce?"

Ingredients:

For the timballo pastry:
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
5 to 6 tablespoons milk

For the ground meat ragù (about 4 1/2 cups):
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery (including a few leaves)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound ground beef (85% lean)
3 tablespoons dry marsala or tawny port
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 28-ounce cans peeled plum tomatoes, drained of can juices
1 teaspoon salt

For the white sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
Several gratings of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Plus:
1 10-ounce package frozen small peas, defrosted
1 tablespoon butter
8 or 8 3/4-ounce package of dried egg tagliolini or tagliarini (also
called fine fettuccine), or other long egg pasta no more than a
1/4-inch wide)
1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 egg, beaten for the egg wash

Method:

To make the pastry:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, fitted
with a metal blade, then add the butter cut into 1-inch pieces. Pulse
the flour mixture and butter together until the mixture resembles coarse
meal. In a small bowl, beat together the egg and the lesser amount of
milk, then pour it into the work bowl. Pulse a dozen or so times to mix
thoroughly, then let the motor run a few seconds, until the dough
gathers into a ball. If the dough seems dry and doesn't quite hold
together, add a little more milk. Remove the dough from the food
processor bowl and place it on a board. Knead it a few times. Let it
rest under a kitchen towel. Divide the dough into 2 portions, one about
3/4 of the dough for the bottom of the drum, the remaining 1/4 for the
top crust. Form two 1-inch-thick disks, wrap them in plastic and
refrigerate (to rest) for at least 30 minutes. (If refrigerated longer,
return to room temperature before rolling.)

To make the ragù:

2. In a 3-quart saucepan or casserole, combine the onion, carrot, celery
and olive oil. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until
the vegetables are soft and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes. Add
the chopped beef and stir well to mix with the vegetables. Continue
cooking over medium heat until the meat has lost all its raw color and
has started to brown, about 20 minutes. Add the Marsala and the white
wine. Let cook another 3 minutes. Add the pureed canned tomatoes and
salt. Simmer very gently, uncovered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring
every 15 minutes or so and making sure to scrape down the sides of the
pan every time you stir. When finished, the meat should still be covered
with sauce. Add water a little at a time, if necessary. Allow the sauce
to cool, then skim off any fat that has risen to the surface. The sauce
can be made ahead, cooled and refrigerated until the timballo will be
assembled, but make sure to cool it to room temperature, without
stirring, before refrigerating. That allows more fat to separate and
rise to the top.

3. Just before assembling the timballo, with the sauce skimmed and just
warm, pour the sauce into a strainer and strain the meat out of the
sauce. Reserve the meat and sauce separately. You should have a little
more than 1 cup of sauce without meat.

To make the white sauce:

4. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the
flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Pour in the milk and stir vigorously
to combine. Stirring constantly, cook until sauce simmers and thickens,
about 5 minutes. Season with salt, nutmeg and pepper. Cover and set
aside.

To prepare the peas:

5. Place the peas in a skillet with one tablespoon butter. Cook,
stirring occasionally, over medium high heat, until heated through,
about 2 minutes. Cover and set aside.

To assemble and bake the timballo:

6. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

7. On a lightly floured board, roll out the larger disk of dough into a
circle at least 16 inches in diameter -- large enough to cover the
bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Then roll out the small
disk into a circle at least 11 inches across.

8. Gently drape the larger circle of dough over the springform and
carefully fit it into the pan. Let the excess dough hang over the edge
of the pan. Set aside covered with a dish towel to prevent drying.

9. Boil the tagliarini in salted water until not quite done. Drain it,
then toss it in a bowl with the strained sauce from the ragu, mixing
well.

10. Make a layer of half the pasta on the bottom of the pastry-lined
pan. Make a layer of half the meat. Make a layer of half the white
sauce, then half the peas, then half the grated cheese. Repeat with a
layer of pasta, meat, white sauce, peas and cheese. (There will be some
sauce left in the pasta bowl. Mix it back into the remaining meat for
the last layer of meat.)

11. Cover with the top crust and cut the pastry to shape. Brush the edge
of the circle with the beaten egg and pinch together. Use the remaining
egg wash to brush on the top pastry. Cut 2 or 3 slits in the pastry.

12. Place the timballo in the next-to-the-lowest rack for about an hour,
until the pastry is well browned. If necessary, after 20 to 30 minutes,
drape a piece of aluminum foil over the top to prevent it from browning
too much. Remove the foil for the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking to make
sure the top is well browned. When done, the pastry will have pulled
away from the sides of the pan slightly.

13. Let the timballo cool 10 minutes, then remove the springform ring
and slide the timballo onto a serving platter. Serve hot.