TIMBALLO ALLA TERAMANA

Originally from the town of Teramo in central Italy, this timballo is constructed of five layers of crespelle (thin crepes) and four succulently prepared vegetables.

CREPES
250ml (8 fl oz)
100 g (3 1/2 oz) flour
28 g (1 oz) butter, plus more for cooking
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste

Wisk the ingredients toghether. Heat a non-stick 20cm (8″) skillet or crepe pan over a medium-high heat. Spread 1 tea spoon of butter around the pan and wipe with a paper towel. Remove the pan from the heat.
Ladle 50 ml (2 fl oz) of butter into the pan and swirl to spread. Place the pan back on the heat and cook until one side is golden. Flip and cook the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter (makes 12 crepes).

FILLING
3 garlic cloves
1 sprig rosemary
7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
250 g (9 oz) mushrooms, roughly chopped
200 g (7 oz) peas
2 shallots, chopped
280 g (10 oz) courgettes, cut into 1 cm cubes
250 g (9 oz) cooked spinach
7 g (1/4 oz) butter
100 g (3 1/2 oz) grated Parmesan
250 g (9 oz) mozzarella cut into 1 cm cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Mushrooms: Saute` 2 cloves of garlic and the rosemary in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until brown.
Add the mushrooms and saute` over a high heat. Cook until the liquid has evaporated.
Remove from the heat, take out the garlic and the rosemary and season to taste. Set aside.

Peas: Cook the peas, half the chopped shallots, 1 1/2 tablesppons of olive oil, pepper and enough water just to cover.
When the peas are tender, remove the vegetables, strain off the liquid, season to taste and set aside.

Courgettes: Saute` the courgettes with the remaining shallots in 1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil.
Cook until any liquid has evaporated and season to taste. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Spinach: saute` the spinach in the butter, remaining oil and garlic. Season to taste. Remove from the heat anddiscard the garlic.
Chop well and set aside.

ASSEMBLY
Grease a 20cm (8″) square baking dish. Line the bootom with two crepes. Sprinkle with a quarter of the grated cheese. Spread the chopped spinach over the bottom.
Add a quarter of the mozzarella cubes over the spinach. Line with two more crepes. Repeat this process of crepes, grated cheese, vegetables and mozzarella with the mushrooms, peas and then courgettes.
Top the final layer with the remaining two crepes. Dot with butter. Cover with aluminium foil and bake at 180 °C for 20 minutes.
Cut into 4/6equal portions and serve immediately.

BUON APPETITO!

Written by Itri on 19 August 2010 | Posted in All News Entries, Recipes