Creating DELICIOUS Timpano Takes JUST the Right BOWL!

Timpano was featured in the movie "The Big Night" starring Stanley Tucci, Tony Shaloub and Minnie Driver. The recipe for the timpano is also in the Tucci family cookbook: Cucina & Famiglia.

Rented the "The Big Night" movie and was surprised that it was just not as amazingly featured on the creation of timpano as it was Italian food in general and the Italian culture in the United States taking place in the mid portion of this century. It definitely displayed the passion that Italians have for their cooking and their food, though!

Creating this module is making me VERY hungry for that which I am describing here!

Timpano is an Italian dish that can actually take a day or two to assemble if you do everything from "scratch" (including the pasta) and make from start to finish, but very well worth the time and effort, obviously.

Timpano has a pastry crust filled with an assortment of ingredients, including....pasta, ragu, meatballs, peas, chicken and mozzarella. It is cooked in layers and when sliced the strata is apparent and magnificent. So magnificent that your guests will probably applaud. That's what they do in the movie, at least!

If you are thinking of preparing timpano, you better have at least one whole day of ingredient gathering and one whole day of preparation. Each of the ingredients mentioned above is essentially a dish in itself. The description of timpano, does not sound that impressive. I think that the ceremony surrounding the preparation and the meaning behind this Big Night in the film must add a lot to the legend.

Wonder what the weight of a fully "loaded" 14" in diameter Timpano bowl would be, filled with those delicious Italian ingredients? Wonder if anyone has ever weighed one in the large 14" bowl?

I was Googling Timpano and see that there is a chain of restaurants by that name. Believe they are mainly Italian and/or Greek and there are some located here in Florida. I may have to take a road trip to locate the closst one and see what it is all about! Never hurts to add another great restaurant to your list of places to eat out! Seems like it would be quicker to travel an hour or two to sample timpano and spend a day or two making it yourself!

BIG NIGHT TYPE TIMPANO

Recipe thanks to James DeLuca of Pennsylvania, who purchased FOUR Timpano bowls from me...one in EACH color I offer and tells me this is DELICIOUS!

Dough Ingredients

4 cups all purpose flour
4 eggs
1 t kosher salt
3 T E. V. olive oil
1/2 cup water

Butter and Olive oil to grease a 6 quart timpano bowl. This is a round, three layer deep 14" bowl.

Filling Ingredients:

2 cups 1/4 x 1/2" sharp provolone cheese cubes
2 cups 1/4 x 1/2" Genoa salami slices
12 hard boiled eggs, shelled and quartered lengthwise and each quarter cut in half to create chunks
2 cups meatballs
8 cups meat based tomato sauce / ragu (add 3/4 pounds cooked ground beef
3 lbs ziti pasta, cooked very al dente (about half)
2 T E.V. olive oil
2/3 cup finely grated pecorino (ewe's milk) Romano cheese
4 eggs beaten

PREPARATION:

To make the dough, place the flour, eggs, salt and olive oil in a stand mixer fitted with the dough 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 surface and knead to make sure it is well mixed. Set aside to 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, dusting with flour and flipping the dough over from time to time, until it is about 1/16 inch thick and is the desired diameter.

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

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To prepare the filling, have the salami, provolone, hard-boiled eggs, meat balls and tomato sauce at room temperature. Toss the drained pasta with the olive oil and 2 cups of the tomato sauce. Distribute 6 generous cups of the pasta on the bottom of the timpano. Top with 1 cup of the salami, 1 cup of the provolone, 6 of the hard-boiled eggs, 1 cup of the meat balls, and 1/3 cup of the Romano cheese. Pour 2 cups remaining pasta, top with the remaining 1 cup of salami, 1 cup meat balls and 1/3 cup Romano cheese. Pour 2 cups of the ragu (the tomato-meat sauce) over these ingredients. Top with the remaining 2 cups of ragu over the pasta. The ingredients should now be about 1 inch below the rim of the bowl. Spoon the remaining 2 cups of ragu over the pasta.

Pour the beaten eggs over the filling. Fold the pasta dough over the filling to seal completely. Trim away and discard any 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 (the internal temperature will be 120 degrees F). About 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 30 minutes or more. The baked timpano should not adhere to the bowl. If any part is still attached, carefully detach with a knife. Grasp the bowl firmly and invert the timpano onto a serving platter. Remove the pan and allow the timpano to cool for 20 minutes. Using a long, sharp knive, cut a circle about 3 inches in diameter in the center of the timpano, making sure to cut all the way through to the bottom. Then, slice the timpano as you would a pie into individual portions, leaving the center circle as a support for the remaining pieces.

ENJOY!