Modern Timpano Recipe (2024)

Line the bottom of your cooking vessel with a round of parchment paper. If even a small patch of pasta sticks while you're turning your timpano out, it will really spoil your day.

Melissa, please don't call this Timpano. I doesn't even resemble the Timpano our family makes. Maybe refer to it as another "timballo" since it is completely different in ingredients and appearance. Your recipe might even be tasty but "to a timpano maker this is not a timpano"

I think fresh pasta used in lasagna or a recipe like this which is not precooked (boiled) simply tastes funny. The texture is all wrong. Ditto for the Barilla kind which is not supposed to need cooking. I do think cooked lasagna noodles or lightly cooked fresh pasta would work better. Again, you get a strange chewy texture if you start with uncooked pasta. Some people find this acceptable, but I do not. Al dente lasagna just doesn't work for me.

Use puff pastry sheets, or make a good pate brisee. That's what I've always done and it works very well.

You can't write about timpano (or timballo) without referring to the iconic movie Big Night, right? What about eggs in the recipe? Melissa is always amazing in print and video. Thanks for so many great instructions and meals.

Made this after looking at comments, so I added some rosemary to the roasted squash, used two red onions, and David Tanis' simple sauce in lieu of pureed tomatoes. Also used spicy sausage, prosciutto and German Extra Hardy garlic in the broccoli rabe. Turned out very tasty. Made fresh pasta and it worked well. The pasta on the outside is just a thin envelope and the top will get dry, the point is flavors and texture inside. I would make this again. Thanks for the recipe, Melissa.

only complaint is that the shell was too tough (bought fresh pasta sheets as recommended). Seemed dry and chewy. Any thoughts?

Hi, I would get the flat lasagne sheets that you don't have to cook. Barilla makes a decent one. Soak them in hot water until they are floppy, and proceed with assembly. I think the lasagne noodles, cooked, would get too mushy.

The timpano was impressive, delicious, and a fun dinner party centerpiece. But the baked pasta shell was hard and after the first slice, very difficult to cut neatly. Some of the wedges just fell apart even with light pressure of the knife on the baked shell. Also, the baked shell was hard to slice on the plate and not very tasty. Thoughts as to why it was so hard?

Ah -- MJ and FCF, meat is made of ground up dead animals. A mere fact. Remember the line "more meat pies from Sweeney Todd?" But I digress. Tempeh, lightly browned with a good sprinkling of tamari. It's very tasty in a dish like this, holds texture, taste, and umami.

Where can i find "Fresh pasta sheets"?

wow! this is great! I was happy to see my Nonna's 'secret' ingredient added - nutmeg! she put it in all sugos, even arrabbiata, and other dishes and ALWAYS fresh graded.

I tried this and the timpano stuck to the Dutch oven and didn't brown. I would make the fresh pasta dough yourself. It's not hard. Here's a recipe: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017391-fresh-egg-pasta

Melissa is on vacation, but can any of you help me? I’ve made the full recipe, but this weekend plan to do half. I’ll make it in a smaller pan, so it won’t be as deep. Any suggestions how long to bake it? Thanks.

@Melissa Clark, if I make a timpano half the recipe size, can you recommend how long to bake it? Thank you. I made the full recipe in 2015 for five of us and, while beautiful and delicious (two of the men had thirds! Ahhhh), it was way too much. Also, did you have an earlier version that used puff pastry sheets or phyllo lining a tube pan? I seem to remember doing that. Thank you for your recipes.

Based off all the reviews saying the pasta sheets became inedible, I made this using the crust from a knish recipe instead and it turned out beautifully. The dough was easy to roll out to size, didn't break, and was pleasantly crispy when done.

The Times published the recipe from Big Night which is more traditional and far better. No eggs? Basta!

I have used the filling for calzones, and it’s fantastic (with and without pasta... I prefer without, but it’s not bad with). The squash is such a wonderful addition to the traditional pizza/calzone flavors!

Timpano, timballo, whichever name we should use, this was wonderful. I cut it in half and it's easily 6 servings. Made my own pasta sheet, end result was a little chewy but not dry. I did put parchment in the dish as was suggested, came out cleanly. I didn't bother trying to line up the penne, was worried the pasta would dry out too fast, but as it turned out not a problem. Nice presentation and the slices held together pretty well. Thank you, Melissa!

Can you use zucchini strips instead of pasta?

I made this timpano and it turned out delicious. I will say that I decided to make my own crust (16oz 00 flour, 2 eggs, 9 yolks, teaspoon salt) which was a good move. The best part about this timpano is that it opens it to putting whatever you want into. If I make it again, I think I'd add beats and more brocolli!

Just made this with minor modifications. I used "fresh" lasagne noodles from Wegmans, which were ok, but dried out quickly while I was still doing other prep work. In response to the curling that occurred because of the drying noodles and in response to some of the comments about inedible lasagne noodles, I put a spoonful or so in the bottom to help cook them and also some snuck down the sides to help keep the noodles in place. Also topped the covering noodles with a small dollop?

Also made this as vegetarian using carrots and eggplant roasted instead of squash and meat, with leftover fresh herbs.

I made this last weekend. Followed the recipe exactly. It came out of the dutch oven perfectly, the crust a beautiful golden brown. The outer crust of fresh pasta sheets was under cooked and not really edible, but the wedges held their shape when we cut into it and served them, and the filling was sublime. This would be very impressive for a dinner party served with big salad. Similar to the penne, I'll par-cook the pasta sheets next time.

I understand the substitution but don't like it. The hardboiled eggs are essential to the "everything and the kitchen sink" impression one gets when the timpano is sliced and served, the watching of which is an essential part of the experience.

We always make a pâte brisée for the crust. And we make it with three layers. One is a nice ragu, on is with a parmesan béchamel and one is with a good pesto. Any red meat product (sausage) would go in the ragu layer, chicken pieces in the béchamel, vegetables in the pesto layer. What goes in each layer is really up to you.

wow! this is great! I was happy to see my Nonna's 'secret' ingredient added - nutmeg! she put it in all sugos, even arrabbiata, and other dishes and ALWAYS fresh graded.