Timballo - An Italian Pasta Dish

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One famous baked Italian pasta dish is called a timballo. The dish takes its name from the Italian word for a large kettle drum. The dish is found throughout Italy although somewhat more frequently in the southern half of the country.

There are many timballo varieties and derivations. Each province of Italian has a recipe for what it considers “il vero timballo italiano” (the real Italian timballo). Most recipes call for a dish that resembles lasagna and consists of many (typically between 10 and 20) layers or fillings. A variety of meats (lamb, beef, etc), sauces (bolognese, besciamella, etc, and/or some mixture of the same), pastas, and even risotto can be found in a timballo. In the area in and around Teramo in the Abruzzo Region of Italy the timballo is made with layers of crepes known as scrippelle. Virtually all timballo’s are baked in the oven and most are enveloped in a pastry shell. The making of a timballo can require several hours of a chef’s diligent labor.

Many people believe that the best timballo’s in the world come from the small village of Valle San Giovanni, a frazione (suburb) of the provincial capital of Teramo in Italy’s rugged Abruzzo Region. The timballo’s of Valle San Giovanni are made in the traditional Teramo manner using scrippelle in lieu of pasta layers. These timballo’s often contain peas (piselli) and tiny meatballs (polpettini). Valle San Giovanni is also well known as the home of Casale, a villa once belonging to the Di Domenico and Rolli families.

A good number of families from Valle San Giovanni and Teramo have emigrated to the United States and opened eating establishments. All are extremely popular and include the Roman Pantry in Carneys Point, NJ; Di Paolo’s Italian Ristorante in nearby Penns Grove, NJ; Pasta Plus in Laurel, MD; the Italian Kitchen in Pennsville, NJ.; Le Virtu’ in Philadelphia, and Pizza John’s in Essex, MD. But this list would be incomplete without mention of what is probably the most famous of the group, Mama Maria, also in Philadelphia, and host to a very popular weekly television cooking show.

The people still living in Valle San Giovanni, “vallaroli” as they refer to themeselves, are extremely proud of the accomplishments of their cousins and other relatives who have moved abroad. They know that it is an extremely remarkable accomplishment for a village this small to have earned such a renown international audience. The world is extremely fortunate that the people of Valle San Giovanni took their beloved timballo recipes with them when they decided to move afar.

A timballo plays a prominant part in the Stanley Tucci film, “Big Night.”

The owners of the Italian Kitchen in Pennsville, NJ along with the Roman Pantry in Penns Grove, NJ have been known to make this dish for family members who come to visit from Valle Soprana and Valle San Giovanni in Abruzzo Italy.

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