Aghi di timo’s Christmas recipe
Our virtual culinary Advent calendar continues with a traditional recipe from Abruzzo, which evokes the scent of celebrations, family gatherings, and joy.
We asked Wanda and Daniele - Aghiditimo what they considered to be the ultimate Christmas dish, linked to a childhood memory, and they suggested a recipe that we could try right away, revisited but still full of affection and tradition.
Here is Grandma Anna's Teramo timballo: endless layers of crepes (scrippelle in Abruzzo) alternating with layers of ragù, strictly homemade tomato sauce, meatballs, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Just writing about it makes you hungry.
Aghiditimo's revisited recipe involves taking a scrippella and transforming it into a fagottino, while leaving the ingredients unchanged. A fagottino full of Christmas memories. Let's take a look at the process together.
Ingredients for 12 bundles
- 3 eggs
- 250 g flour
- 500 ml milk
- 500 g cherry tomatoes
- 400 g ground beef or veal
- 5 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- Grated Parmesan cheese to taste
- 2 mozzarella balls
- White meat ragù (meat of your choice, e.g., veal, chicken, and turkey, chopped with a knife)
- 250 ml béchamel sauce
- Salt, pepper, chili pepper, and garlic to taste
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Marsala
Preparation
Start by preparing the crepes: blend the eggs, flour, and milk together. Heat a non-stick pan and pour in a ladleful of batter, enough to create a thin layer covering the base of the pan, swirling it slightly. When the edges of the crepe begin to lift, flip it over for a few seconds.
To form the bundles, take a crepe, add two tablespoons of ragù, a few cubes of mozzarella, and a tablespoon of béchamel sauce to the center, and close it to form a "bag" that you can close with kitchen string or, as in our case, with chives. Bake at 170°C for about 10 minutes.
- For the tomato sauce: cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Heat the oil, garlic, and chili pepper in a pan, then brown the tomatoes and deglaze with the Marsala wine. Cook for a few minutes, then blend everything and pass through a sieve to remove the skins and seeds.
- For the meatballs: mix the minced meat, 5 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese, a pinch of pepper, and a pinch of salt. Form very small meatballs (1 cm in diameter) and fry them in a pan with olive oil. Pour a few tablespoons of tomato sauce onto the plate, place the fagottino on top, add a few meatballs and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
Finally, enjoy the authentic flavors of the holidays and tradition, dreaming with a sparkling and elegant mise en place. For their table, Wanda and Daniele chose the Flora Weiss line of dishes, white porcelain with unique class, always impressive when paired with Tuli Optic Gold glasses and Sintesi Gold cutlery.
Wanda and Daniele's Christmas recipe - Thyme needles
A perfect first course for the holidays, redolent of tradition and bringing back many memories. Here is Grandma Anna's Teramo timbale, revisited and transformed into a delicious bundle.
To serve: Flora Weiss line, in elegant white porcelain perfect for a total white table, Tuli Optic Gold glasses and Sintesi Gold cutlery, to always shine.
