Place of origin | Italy |
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Region or state | Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Latin America |
Timballo is an Italian baked dish consisting of pasta, rice, or potatoes, with one or more other ingredients (cheese, meat, fish, vegetables, or fruit) included. [1] [2] Variations include the mushroom and shrimp sauce timballo Alberoni, named after Giulio Alberoni, and the veal and tomato sauce timballo pattadese.
The name comes from the French word for ' kettledrum' (timbale). [1] Varieties of timballo differ from region to region, and it is sometimes known as a bomba, tortino, sartù (a type of Neapolitan timballo with rice and tomato sauce) or pasticcio (which is used more commonly to refer to a similar dish baked in a pastry crust). [1] It is also known as timpano [3] and timbale. It is similar to a casserole and is sometimes referred to in English as a pie or savory cake. [1]
The dish is prepared in a dome or springform pan and eggs or cheese are used as a binder. [1] Rice is commonly used as an ingredient in Emilia-Romagna, where the dish is referred to as a bomba and baked with a filling of pigeon or other game bird, peas, local cheese and a base of dried pasta. [1] Crêpes are used as a base in Abruzzo, and other regions use ravioli or gnocchi. [1] In Sicily, it is typically made with pasta and eggplant. [4]
Mushroom sauce or fonduta, a rich Piedmontese cheese soup and sauce, are sometimes used, and Anna Del Conte wrote that béchamel is the most consistently used ingredient in timballo. [1] [5]
Timballo featured prominently in the 1996 film Big Night, although the dish there is referred to as timpano (a regional or family term). [1] [6] [7]
In December 2020, The Washington Post reported that making timpano is a Christmas tradition in Anthony Fauci's household. [8]