Ingredients
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the baking pan and frying the eggplant
- 2 pound eggplant, thinly sliced lengthwise
- 2 clove garlic cloves, minced
- 5 ounce fresh basil leaves
- 1 ounce small white or yellow onion, diced
- 2 ounce pancetta (or bacon), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 10 ounce ground veal
- 1 pound penne
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 1 cup (about 3 ounces) freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more to pass at the table
Preparation
Baking Directions:
1.Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
2.Pour enough olive oil into a large skillet to fill to one inch.
Heat over medium-high heat and add the eggplant slices in one layer to fry until golden brown, turning once.
Drain on paper towels and repeat with the remaining eggplant.
3.To make the tomato sauce, heat 1/2 cup of the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly to avoid browning.
Add the tomatoes, adjust salt to taste, and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add the basil leaves and turn off the heat.
4.Heat remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large frying pan.
Add the onion and sauté until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
Add the pancetta and sauté until it is golden brown, about 2 minutes.
Add the ground veal, 2 tablespoons water, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until the veal is golden brown.
5.Bring a big saucepan of water to a boil.
Stir in a small fistful of salt and the penne, and boil until the penne is al dente.
Reserve a cupful of pasta water and drain quickly in a colander.
Transfer the drained penne to a large mixing bowl.
Add the tomato sauce and a splash of pasta water for consistency, and toss.
6.While the pasta is cooking, liberally grease a 10-inch round or oval baking dish with oil.
Line the bottom and sides with the fried eggplant slices, reserving enough eggplant to cover the finished timballo.
7.Spoon a third of the pasta in the bottom of the baking pan.
Cover with a third of the ground veal.
Top with a third of the mozzarella slices and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Repeat in 2 more layers.
Top with a layer of the eggplant slices and place in the oven to bake 40 minutes.
Serving Directions:
Remove from the oven and wait 5 minutes before turning the pasta out onto a serving platter.
Slice and serve, and pass the Parmesan.
