Timpana
Timpana is an epic Maltese dish made by baking pasta in a rich meat sauce inside a shortcrust pastry. It's a delicious celebration dish that's an absolute showstopper.
This recipe is taken from Malta by Simon Bajada (Hardie Grant, £26).
Timpana is one of Malta’s most recognised dishes (known as ‘timpano’ in Sicily). The pie is reserved for special occasions, though you would not think this given how often some Maltese people make it. The goal is to cook the pastry without drying the interior. To help with this, I make my timpana in a tall cake tin so the pie is high and not too wide. (If you don’t have a tall tin, you can also make the pie in an enamelled cast-iron pot, skipping the crimped edge and serving the pie upside down.) Making and chilling the pasta filling in advance is another trick. The inclusion of minced pork adds moisture, and chicken livers add a distinctive flavour.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Filling
- 3 large tomatoes, ripe, or 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 400g of pork mince
- 100g of pancetta, or bacon, cut into 1cm pieces
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 500ml of chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 180g of chicken livers, membranes removed, diced into 2 cm (3/4 in) pieces
- 1 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter
- 300g of macaroni pasta, (straight, not elbow) or penne
- 5 eggs, 2 of them hard-boiled, peeled and quartered
- 80g of Parmesan, grated
Equipment
- 24cm spring-form cake tin
Method
If using fresh tomatoes, score them on their bases and grate with a box grater
- 3 large tomatoes, ripe, or 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the minced meat and pancetta and cook until the meat has browned and any moisture has evaporated. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, spices and some salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer the ragu for 45 minutes
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 400g of pork mince
- 100g of pancetta, or bacon, cut into 1cm pieces
- 2 tbsp of tomato purée
- 500ml of chicken stock
- 1/2 tsp allspice powder
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Scrape into a bowl to cool
In a frying pan, sauté the liver in the butter over a medium heat until the pieces are seared all over but still pink in the middle. Season with salt and pepper
- 180g of chicken livers, membranes removed, diced into 2 cm (3/4 in) pieces
- 1 1/2 tbsp of unsalted butter
Boil the pasta in well-salted water for a few minutes less than the packet recommends. Drain and rinse with cold water to cool the pasta down
- 300g of macaroni pasta, (straight, not elbow) or penne
Refrigerate until completely chilled
While the pasta mixture is chilling, make the pastry. Combine the flour, butter and salt in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs or rough sand
Add the water to create a firm dough. Shape into a ball, then flatten into a disc. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 45 minutes
- 100ml of iced water, or up to 120ml
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) and butter a large, tall non-stick springform cake tin (about 10 cm/4 in high and 24 cm/9½ in wide)
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to 5 mm (1/4 in) thick. Line the tin with the pastry, then trim off the excess and form the scraps into a ball to use for the lid
Fill the pastry shell with half the pasta mixture. Scatter with the wedges of boiled egg, and top with the remaining pasta
Roll out the remaining pastry and cover the pie. Trim off the excess pastry leaving a small border. Fold in and use a thumb to make decorative indentations around the edge. Whisk the egg with the milk and brush over the top of the timpana
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp of milk
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pie, remove the springform sides and cook for another 15 minutes
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