members recipes

A traditional Sicilian dish made of pasta rings mixed into a beef,pea and basil ragu, which is then layered with Caciocavallo,Provola & Parmesan cheeses and baked. If you cant\'t get hold of Aneletti, use another ring shaped pasta (eg.Trulli) as i did.

Ingredients
Serves approx 8

Tomato sauce:

3 tins of tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Large bunch of basil leaves
A lug of olive oil
Salt, pepper & 1tsp sugar to season

500g lean minced beef
450g peas (fresh or frozen)
500g anelletti pasta or other ring shaped pasta
2 medium eggs, seasoned with salt and beaten
approx 3/4 cup of toasted breadcrumbs
about 400g Provola cheese, grated
150g Parmesan & Caciocavallo cheese (50/50),grated

Method
You\'ll need a large round baking dish or tin for this dish. If you don\'t have either then just bake and serve the pasta in a deep lasagne dish.

1.First make the sauce. Cover the base of a large casserole dish with olive oil and gently fry the onion and garlic till soft but not browned.
2. Add the tomatoes to the pan along with some salt,pepper and the sugar. Crush the tomatoes a little with a wooden spoon then cover and cook the sauce gently for approx 20mins.
3. Just before the end of cooking, stir in the basil leaves and allow the sauce to cool a little.
4. Puree the sauce either using a food mill or a sieve and place back in the pan.
5. In a large frying pan, heat a little olive oil and fry the minced beef till lightly browned (season with a little salt and pepper). Add the meat to the tomato sauce and continue cooking over a low heat for approx 30mins.
6. Add the peas to the sauce and cook for a further 15mins.

7. Whilst the sauce is cooking prepare the pasta. Cook the pasta rings for only 4 mins then drain.
8. Add the pasta to the meat sauce and let it cool down slightly before mixing in the beaten eggs.
9. Grease your dish and sprinkle the bottom and sides with half the breadcrumbs.
10. Add a layer of pasta and about 1/4 of the cheeses.
11. Repeat the layers 3 times finishing with a sprinkling of breadcrumbs.
12. Drizzle the dish with a little olive oil then cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 160C for approx 30-35mins (remove foil for the last few minutes)
13. Allow the pasta to rest for a few minutes before turning out the timballo onto a serving dish.