The holiday season is here and there is no better time to prepare a meal that will bring friends and family together. The Rose Timbale is a perfect option to satisfy and impress a crowd and an elegant way to incorporate a healthy addition to a decadent Thanksgiving feast.
Cooked and served in a circular pan, the timbale, known in Italy as “timballo”, is a baked dish made to share, and is composed of pasta, risotto or mashed potatoes, and a variety of vegetables and sauces. With a long history dating back centuries in Sicilian and Neapolitan cuisine, this spectacular dish has several regional varieties in Italy, and it has been prepared with fine ingredients for royal banquets, or served on rural tables using humble kitchen scraps.
The Rose Timbale is a sophisticated and light version of this culinary staple that remains, to this day, a popular holiday recipe. Packed with nutritious greens such as broccoli and Swiss chard and using only a small serving of pasta, it doesn’t require any butter or cream. Instead, the ingredients include fragrant extra-virgin olive oil, fresh robiola, a soft cheese made with a mixture cow and sheep milk from Piedmont, and the sweet and nutty flavor of Grana Padano.
The Rose Timbale is prepared with Barilla Wavy Lasagne sheets rolled with a filling of cheese and green vegetables arranged tightly in the baking dish, looking like a lovely and delicious bouquet of white and green flowers. The lasagne are easily cooked in boiling water for eight minutes, quickly soaked in iced water and then drained. To reduce cooking time, it is recommended to let them cool on a clean towel before adding the condiments and baking them, so that they will not absorb too much liquid.
Made with the finest durum wheat, Barilla Wavy Lasagne are a versatile item to keep handy for a variety of delicacies, from classic meat and vegetarian lasagna dishes to baked cannelloni. In this recipe, they not only add taste but also embellish the timbale. The ridged lasagne sheets wrap around the cheesy filling like ribbons, making for an elaborate and festive design.
Rose Timbale
Serves 4
1 bunch of cleaned chard, 2 cups of robiola cheese (or substitute a mixture of 1 ½ cups mascarpone and ½ cup ricotta), 1 box of Barilla Wavy Lasagne , ½ lb of Romanesco broccoli, ½ cup Grana Padano cheese, lemon, thyme, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste
How to prepare it:
Preheat oven to 350F
Step 1: Prepare the robiola spread
Combine the robiola or substitute cheese mixture with ½ cup of grated Grana Padano cheese, salt, pepper, and few thyme leaves, one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, and the zest of half a lemon until a cream forms.
Step 2: Cook the greens
Roughly chop the Swiss chard and sauté it in a pan with a pinch of salt for 2-3 minutes. Boil the Romanesco broccoli florets in salted water for 2 minutes and strain.
Step 3: Cook the lasagna sheets
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Cook the Barilla Wavy Lasagne pasta sheets for 8 minutes, then soak them in iced water for 1 minute, and lay them on a clean tea towel. Cook and fill them two at a time so that they remain flexible and do not tear while being filled.
Step 4: Make the rose rolls
Spread the Barilla Wavy lasagne sheets with the robiola mixture, top with the Swiss chard and the Romanesco broccoli, then fold them over to form rolls. Cut them in half.
Step 5: Assemble the timbale and bake
Arrange the rolls upright in a casserole dish (7” across and 1 ½” deep). Sprinkle the timbale with grated cheese, drizzle a bit of oil on top and bake for 10-15 minutes.