Anelletti Timbale

Today I’m talking about a typical Sicilian dish and to be exact from the Palermo area, the timbale of anelletti. It is a dish that sees its origins in the Middle Ages, the place of birth is probably established between Trabia and Termini Imerese, where the mills were built by the Arabs. Perhaps not everyone knows it but pasta, as we know it today, was invented in Sicily. The first testimonies on the production of dry pasta in Italy come from Muslim Sicily.

During the twelfth century the Arab geographer Idrisi speaks of an important production center of pasta in the Palermo area, putting it in relation to a milling activity that already existed. From here the dry pasta of durum wheat semolina has conquered the rest of Italy, passing through Naples and arriving up to Genoa. During the Aragonese domination, Sicily and Sardinia became the main centers of pasta production in the Mediterranean and from the islands the distribution of this product arrived to northern Italy and to Spain.

It is said that, according to some legends, the shape of this pasta, the anelletti, take up the shapes of the earrings that Arab women wore. The original recipe over time has undergone several variations, but certainly there is that the shape of the pasta has always remained the same, the anelletti, inevitable on the tables of us islanders to celebrate the festive anniversaries of the Christmas period or as food to take to the sea or to a picnic. The process may seem quite long and complex, but I assure you that it is a matter of putting together the ingredients and the result will be a delicious dish to be enjoyed.

We start by preparing the ragù the day before by heating the olive oil and browning onion, carrots and celery finely chopped, adding the minced meat and as soon as the meat is golden adding the wine (red or white) until evaporates, only then add the green peas (fresh or frozen). After about 5 minutes add the tomato sauce, season with salt and pepper, add few leaves of basil and let it cook the sauce for about an hour over very low heat. Let it rest throughout the night, the next day you will have a more relaxed and less liquid sauce. The next day start by slicing the eggplants thinly and fry them in EVO oil. Cut the caciocavallo (or smoked scamorza) into cubes and slice two boiled eggs that you have previously prepared. Cook the pasta in a pan with boiling water and bring it to 3/4 of cooking.

Drain it and add to the pasta the sauce you made the day before. Now we’re there, it’s time to assemble everything.
Take a baking sheet, grease it with olive oil and pour breadcrumbs distributing it over the entire surface. Cover the baking sheet with the previously fried eggplants in order to seal it in totality without leaving holes or free spaces. Pour a layer of pasta and meat sauce previously amalgamated and lightly crushed with a spoon, add a layer of boiled eggs, one of cooked ham and one of caciocavallo and cover everything with another layer of pasta with meat sauce. Seal with a layer of eggplant and put in the oven for about 30 minutes. After cooking wait until has cooled and unmold.

The wine I picked up to pair with this dish is a good Sicilia D.O.C. Nero d’Avola Settesoli.
Enjoy your meal.

Ingredients for 6 people:
1 small onion, 1 carrot and a celery rib
250 gr. of minced veal
250 gr. of minced pork
300 gr. of green peas
500 gr. of tomato sauce
200 gr. of caciocavallo cheese
EVO oil q.s.
half a glass of wine
Breadcrumbs q.s.
2 boiled eggs
150 gr. of cooked ham
Sale q.s.
Pepe q.s.
Few leaves of basil
400 gr. of pasta
I use Poiatti pasta, a Sicilian brand from Mazara del Vallo born in 1946, 100% Sicilian grain made pasta

For any further information please contact me at
stefaniamontalbano@carlozucchetti.it