Stranger Foods

Photograph of Timballo di pasta e polpettine.

ItalianTimballo di pasta e polpettine

Serves 4 | Prep 30 mins | Cook 45 mins

Nonna Caterina didn’t always have hours to pull together a lasagna (see Lasagna al Ragù di Lady Caterina), but she never cut corners on deliciousness. One of her go-to weekday dishes was pasta baked with meatballs bound together with melted cheese. There’s a big controversy in Italy about pasta and meatballs. It’s not typical in most of its fiercely regional cuisines so many Italians write it off as a purely American invention. After all, spaghetti (a first course) and meatballs (a second course) are traditionally served separately. Still, I know for a fact that many families, including mine, have gone against the grain and served pasta with meatballs for generations. All over the south of Italy and in parts of Abruzzo, nonne bake trays of pasta studded with tiny meatballs, proving that the combination does indeed exist!

Source: The Pasta Queen

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

x0.5

Sea salt
1 lb ziti
1 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
4 leaves fresh basil, torn
6 thin slices provolone
100 g Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated

Polpettine

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh bread crumbs or fine dried bread crumbs
¼ cup milk
8 oz ground beef (85% lean)
4 oz ground pork
60 g Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small egg
2 tsp sea salt
½ tsp fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, oil

Instructions

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°F

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Make the polpettine: Soak the fresh bread crumbs in the milk for a couple of minutes. (If using dried bread crumbs, do not soak.) Drain off any liquid. In a large bowl, massage together the beef, pork, bread crumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, garlic, egg, salt, parsley, and a scrunch of pepper. Form the mixture into balls about the size of an acorn and set aside on a baking sheet.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the meatballs and brown all over, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 205°C.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil over high heat. Season with salt until the water tastes like a seasoned soup. Drop in the pasta and cook until very al dente (a little more than half the recommended cooking time).
Meanwhile, in a large ovenproof skillet, combine the browned polpettine and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for to marry the flavors and take the raw flavor out of the tomatoes. Add the basil and simmer for more.
Fold the pasta into the pan, distribute the provolone and Parmigiano-Reggiano evenly over the pasta. Cover with foil and bake for . Uncover and bake until a crisp crust forms around the edge of the dish, about longer.
Allow the timballo to set for before slicing and serving.

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