Timballo alla Teramana

Hi TFLers! It's that time of the year again that I have little more time to post. Pasta and phyllo are still my obsessions these days. This is not bread but I still wanna share some of my adventures with you.

Today, I cooked one of the "lesser known" culinary gems of Italy from the Abruzzo region, Timballo alla Teramana. There are many versions but this is the one I used: Scrippelle, ragù, seasoned mince, peas, 3 cheeses, bagnata (egg and milk mixture), and butter, layered and baked until golden and crispy. Sort of a crêpe lasagne, the crêpes making it really light.

What amazed me the most is how ingenious is the recipe for the crêpes. I made it the traditional way, where it calls for a spoon of flour for every egg and an eggshell's worth of water. I used 15 eggs for this and they cooked up beautifully even without a non-stick pan.

For the ragù, I used pork belly and neck simmered for 3 hours with onion, carrot, celery and canned whole peeled tomatoes. We ate the meat separately and used the luscious cooking liquid for the timballo.

 The peas were simply sautéed in olive oil with onions. The minced meat was seasoned with Parmigiano Reggiano, pepper and nutmeg. Traditionally, the mince would be formed into the tiniest meatballs, but I just didn't have the patience today so I simply crumbled it. I used dry mozzarella for the layers too.

I layered them alternately until there was a total of 5 layers. I poked the timballo with a knife to pour the final portion of the bagnata for moistness then I dotted butter pieces on top and baked it slowly for an hour at 180 C.

 
Golden and shatteringly crisp! Balanced without anything overpowering the others.

So flavor-packed but very light! Great even at room temperature too, which I think is perfect for picnics. If you like lasagne but want something lighter, this is the one for you.

If there are Italians here, I hope I did it some justice.

 I hope you enjoyed this post. Wishing everyone a healthier and happier 2025! God bless!