TIMPANO!
Timpano of Macaroni from "Big Night"
by Campell Scott and Stanley Tucci
"Chi mangia bene sta molto vicino a Dio."
"He who eats well is very close to God".
All Primo Pelaggi's (Tony Shalhoub) art is enclosed in this phrase. He has come to America to seek his fortune with his brother Secondo (Stanley Tucci). The time is the early 50's, the brothers manage a restaurant that is near bankruptcy due to Primo's stubborn insistance on no compromise between Italian tradition and American tastes.
Secondo desparately tries to avoid financial disaster placing all his bets and money on a grand evening to relaunch the restaurant, in which his rival from Pascal's invites the jazz player Luis Prima. The Big Night arrives and a "timpano", that acquires symbolic significance, is the star of the evening "A timpano is a drum with the best things in the world inside!"
Imperial oz
for the "sugo di umido":
3 lb 4 oz di pork eye round
2 rosemary twigs
2 thyme twigs
2 lb finely sliced Pancetta (rindless bacon)
3 floz olive oil
2 oz lard
1 lb finely chopped onion
2 floz dry tasty wine
1 lb 2 oz tomato concentrate
2 lb 3 oz tomato passata
1 large bunch basil
salt & pepper
to make 1 lb 13 oz of sugo di umido
for the meat balls
1 lb 2 oz pork from the sugo di umido
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg
salt
flour for dredging
oil for frying
to make 1 lb 2 oz meat balls
for the short pastry:
1 lb 2 oz flour
9 oz sugar
9 oz lard
6 egg yolks
1 lb 2 oz maccheroni
2 oz butter
14 oz diced mozzarella
3 oz grated Parmesan
US cups
for the "sugo di umido":
3 lb 4 oz di pork eye round
2 rosemary twigs
2 thyme twigs
4 cups finely sliced Pancetta (rindless bacon)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lard
2 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup dry rich wine
2 1/4 cup tomato concentrate
4 1/2 cup tomato passata
1 large bunch basil
salt & pepper
to make 3 1/2 cups of sugo di umido
for the meat balls
2 cups pork from the sugo di umido
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg
salt
flour for dredging
oil for frying
to make 1 lb 2 oz meat balls
for the short pastry:
4 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cup gr sugar
1 1/4 cup lard
6 egg yolks
1 lb 2 oz macaroni
1/4 cup butter
2 cups diced mozzarella
1 cup grated Parmesan
Metric
for the "sugo di umido":
1,5 kg di pork eye round
2 rosemary twigs
2 thyme twigs
900 gr finely sliced Pancetta (rindless bacon)
1 dl olive oil
50 gr lard
500 gr finely chopped onion
1/2 dl dry rich wine
500 gr tomato concentrate
1 l tomato passata
1 large bunch basil
salt & pepper
to make 8 dl of sugo di umido
for the meat balls
1/2 kg pork from the sugo di umido
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg
salt
flour for dredging
oil for frying
to make 500 gr meat balls
for the short pastry:
500 gr flour
250 gr sugar
250 gr lard
6 egg yolks
500 gr maccheroni
50 gr. butter
400 gr diced mozzarella
100 gr grated Parmesan
Lets follow Primo's recommendation and choose the ingredients with care and love. You will need a lot of time to prepare this recipe.
The day before:
Begin by preparing the "sugo di umido" the sauce formed during the cooking of the pot roast to be used separately. Place the rosemary and the thyme on the meat and wrap it in pancetta, then tie it tightly with kitchen string. Choose a casserole that is neither too large nor too narrow for the volume of the meat. Place the oil and lard on the bottom, then the onions and then the meat and cook on medium heat until the meat acquires a golden amber crust. You must check the pot roast constantly adding a little wine when neccessary and stirring so that it does not dry or burn. When the onions are softened and the meat is well browned remove it from the casserole and without pricking it set it aside keeping it warm.
Lower the heat and add the tomato concentrate, stirring slowly with a wooden spoon. When it starts sticking to the bottom of the pan add a little wine and continue stirring. Continue this procedure until it is thick and creamy, about 10 minutes. Place the meat back in the casserole gently and cover it with the tomato "passata", salt moderately and cover with a lid leaving a slight opening. Cook on really gentle heat until it turns a syrupy dark red, about an hour and a half. Remove the meat and add plenty of basil. Let the meat cool, remove the string, then mince finely and set aside for the meat balls.
Prepare the meat balls with 1 lb 2 oz/2 1/4 cups/500 gr of the minced meat. Mix the meat with the egg, the chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Dredge in flour and fry in olive oil and refrigerate until needed.
The big day!
Prepare the pastry case. Quickly mix the ingredients with your fingers until you obtain a smooth dough. Refrigerate for an hour covered with a clean dish cloth.
Boil the macaroni very "al dente" strain and dress with the tomato sauce, butter, plentiful grated Parmesan and cool. Butter a large cake mould with removable ring (15"/30cm) and line with 2/3rds of the finely rolled out pastry. The pastry must overlap the edges substantially.
Assemble the timpano: Place half the macaroni in the case and level, then the meat balls interspersed with diced mozzarella cheese and sprinkled with grated Parmesan. Lastly cover with the rest of the macaroni. Roll out the other third of the pastry into a disk, cover the macaroni and fold over the flaps of pastry, pressing down on the edges so that it is well seeled. Brush with egg white and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350°F/180°C/G4 for 45 minutes, let it rest 5 minutes before removing the ring and serve hot.
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Paul Caporino of M.O.T.O. Wrote:
I've recently noticed that all the unfortunate events in the lives of blues singers all seem to rhyme... I think all these tragedies could be avoided with a good rhyming dictionary.
