| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 pound spicy Italian sausage links, boiled for 6 minutes and cut into bite-size pieces
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 pound Pastina Timbale Sauce, recipe follows:
- 3 pounds canned diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 jalapeno chiles
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Gorgonzola
- 1 small jar roasted peppers, julienned (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Brush 8 (12-ounce) ramekins or 1 large oven-safe bowl with butter and set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan and saute sausage until browned.
- Meanwhile, combine 2 tablespoons of the oil and the minced garlic in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook until the garlic is light brown, about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the bread crumbs to the skillet and stir them every minute for 3 to 5 minutes until the crumbs are lightly toasted. Season with salt and pepper. Add 1/4 cup of the parsley and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. Cook for 30 seconds.
- Pour the bread crumb mixture into the prepared ramekins or bowl and press around the sides to line with the bread crumb mixture, using your fingers to evenly distribute it along the bottom and up the sides.
- While the Pastina Timbale Sauce is simmering, cook the pastina in the boiling salted water until just shy of al dente, about 9 minutes. Drain the pastina in a colander.
- Reheat the sauce, if needed, and add the drained pastina and then the browned sausage. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of parsley, and remaining 3/4 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir to combine. Transfer the pastina mixture to the lined ramekins (1 1/4 cups per ramekin) or large bowl. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Invert the molded pastina timbale onto warmed individual serving plates, and serve.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a bowl, toss tomatoes and whole jalapeno chiles with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place tomato mixture on a cookie sheet and roast in oven for 15 or 20 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from heat and finely chop the tomatoes. Transfer tomato pulp and any juices from the cutting board to a bowl. Chop the chiles and taste to determine their heat.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat until hot. Add the onion, season with salt, and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and stir. Add the chiles and simmer for another minute, only adding as much jalapeno as you want for spice. Add the tomatoes and their juice and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the vinegar and stir in the Gorgonzola. Stir in the roasted peppers and the parsley. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 710 |
| Total Fat | 42 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 59 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Cholesterol | 62 mg |
| Sodium | 947 mg |
Reviews
Yes, I’m a Chiarello groupie. No I don’t love all his dishes; but most of them are top-notch. This recipe is one of the best. I use this network for many recipes because I love to cook. This is absolutely one of the best. Very flavorful & fun to make. Prep is not a quickie but I loved every minute; hey it’s the journey not the destination. I’m a tough critic since I’m a perfectionist & it doesn’t get much better than this. The entire family loved it. Yummmmmmm. Thank you Michael, just one more notch in your gun.
WOW! GUESTS WERE CERTAINLY IMPRESSED WITH PRESENTATION AND TASTE. A REAL KEEPER.
This was easy to do and tasted great! My son was very doubtful that it would hold together, but it did. The only problem I had was that the breadcrumb mixture wouldn’t stick to the sides of the bowl and all stayed at the bottom. But when unmolded the the timbale had a crumb topping that was tasty and attractive. I used acini di pepe instead of pastina and sun-dried tomato chicken sausage instead of italian sausage (much lower fat and delicious!)
I left out the sausage to accomodate some veggie guests and added an additional pepper- It was sensational and a beautiful presentation.
This recipe was excellent. In the future I will break up the sausage and brown it before adding to pasta.
I was afraid to do this recipe for a party for fear that the pastina would not fall out of the bowl. But boy do I wish I had. The recipe was straight foward, has a ton pizazzzzz (nothing stuck to the bow), and can feed a lot of people. not to mention it also tastes great. Will definitely make again!
4 stars, great
Recipe is a classic easy pasta dish…and just so, so good!
I made this recipe for the first time for a dinner party and it was the hit of the night. Very easy and it came right out of the bowl, no sticking. Looked really cool.
family loved it