Timballo

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]

• List of casserole dishes
• List of pasta
• List of pasta dishes
• Lasagna
• Pastitsio

• Timballo Siciliano recipe Archived 2017-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
• Rayner, Jay (17 October 2021). "The day I cooked timpano with Stanley Tucci". The Observer.