Timpano is a traditional Italian dish that is large, hearty and can feed a lot of hungry people. You can make it the traditional way, as in the feature film "Big Night," or with any pasta, such as spaghetti and meatballs. The idea is to serve pasta inside a puff pastry for the ultimate comfort food meal.
Ingredients
To make timpano, you'll need a timpano pan, which resembles a very deep round cake pan. You can make the puff pastry from scratch, but store-bought puff pastry dough from the freezer section will do. The traditional filling is made with 2 cups of provolone cheese, 2 cups of sliced salami, 12 hard boiled eggs, 2 cups of meatballs, 8 cups of ragu sauce (canned is fine), 3 pounds of ziti pasta that's been boiled till al dente, 2 tbsp. of olive oil, 2/3 cup of grated Romano cheese, and 4 beaten eggs. However, any combination of pasta, sauce, meat and vegetables will work in timpano. Include ingredients that you and your guests enjoy the most. Before beginning to make timpano, your ingredients should be at room temperature so that they are easier to work with and will not interfere with cooking the puff pastry.
Procedure
To evenly distribute the filling ingredients, mix them together in a bowl. Traditional timpano is a layered dish, alternating the pasta filling with layers of provolone and romano cheese, but less traditional timpano can be made simply by filling the puff pastry with spaghetti and meatballs, or all of your desired filling ingredients mixed together. To properly seal the timpano shell, begin by lining the pan with puff pastry dough, fill it with your pasta mixture, and then add another layer of puff pastry dough over the top, pinching the ends into the bottom layer of dough to seal. It is important to poke holes in the top of the puff pastry with a fork so that air will have room to escape during baking. Bake the timpano at 350 degrees F for an hour and a half total, but check on it at least once during baking to make sure the crust isn't burning. If the crust does begin to burn, you can cover it with aluminum foil.
Serving
To remove the timpano from the pan, cover the top of the timpano with a large plate, and then flip the pan over so that the timpano comes out upside-down onto the plate. If you cut the timpano right away, you risk all of the filling pouring out of the pastry, leaving you with an empty shell. To give the pasta a chance to solidify and stick to the crust, making your timpano appear more like a pie, let it rest for 15 minutes after removing it from the oven. Timpano can be cut into squares, or, more traditionally, into "V" shaped slices, like a pizza or pie.
Tags: puff pastry, pastry dough, puff pastry dough, during baking, filling ingredients, make timpano