Reserve about 1 cup of meat ragu and stir the rest into the pasta. Stir in the cubed caciocavallo cheese adn 1/2 cup of grated Parmigiano cheese. The condiment for homemade anellini alla pecorara has 3 main components, a tomato sauce, sautéed vegetables and fresh ricotta. Traditionally the latter is sheep’s ricotta, but you can use cow’s milk ricotta instead. The tomato sauce. So, anellini alla pecorara is a dish of a particular type of pasta and sauce eaten together. In Abruzzo, you can find fresh anellini to buy in many food stores. Interestingly, the pasta is sold as anellini alla pecorara or pecorara di Elice. Although, many locals still make this pasta themselves. Outside of the region, the only way to enjoy this dish in its authentic form is to use homemade pasta, which is what we did. What is anellini pasta?

Both anelli and tortellini are round, ring-shaped pastas. However, there is one key difference: tortellini is a type of stuffed pasta while anelli is not. Anelli are small, thin rings of pasta often used in brothy soups and pasta salads while tortellini is often paired with a simple sauce to elevate its filling. Although these pasta shapes aren’t interchangeable, they are both unique and delicious in their own right. Traditional Dishes Suitable for Anelli Pasta Add the potato, squash, soaked porcini and fresh mushrooms, fry, stirring, for a few minutes more, then add the liquid and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, then add the pasta and continue cooking, stirring regularly, until it is tender, adding more water if you think it needs it. Anelletti is a pasta type that is ring shaped and in this case is baked, ( al Forno) between layers of marinara and bechamel sauce, of course there’s cheese and other goodies included like Italian sausage and peas. So while your water is boiling, in a large pan add a little oil, pancetta and some fresh rosemary leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the pancetta is golden. Prepare a 10 inch (24 cm) spring form pan by coating it with olive oil. Coat the bottom and sides with a layer of breadcrumbs (2 tbsp.). Place the pan on a baking sheet. Some of the liquid may leak out from the bottom of the pan during baking.We have a friend who is an amazing cook and he always adds a couple of tablespoons of Mascarpone to his Risotto instead of cream, and I have to admit it is so good.

Although I have read that this recipe originally had some meat in it, the majority of versions today are mostly vegetarian ones. The pasta is dressed with a tomato sauce mixed with sheep’s ricotta, sautéed vegetables and pecorino. Of course, pecorino isn’t actually vegetarian as it contains animal rennet. Strict vegetarians can leave it out or use a vegetarian hard cheese. Step 3 Make the tomato sauce. First sauté finely chopped onion, celery and carrot in olive oil. Cover the top of the pasta with the slices of eggplant hanging over the sides of the pan. Top with additional eggplant slices to completely cover the pasta. Sprinkle the top with the remaining breadcrumbs.This is a simpler version but really you can make your timballo based on what you have. If you don't have anelli pasta you can use other pastas - I've also seen this done with spaghetti too. It looks fantastic with rigatoni pasta and you can also use rice instead of pasta. It's the ultimate leftover meal. You don't need a bundt tin for this as you can also use a springform tin or loaf tin and layer all of the ingredients. You can use eggs or cheese to bind it (in my case I used cheese because I love cheese). Some put breadcrumbs and cheese on the outside (which is something I'm more likely to do next time over a dough). I can only imagine the crunchy delicious crust on the outside. But this isn’t another column about baked pasta. It’s a column about the fact that, even though I make versions of minestrone all year round, when autumn arrives, holding tights and the other half of the detachable duvet, the need for big soup is great. This one is full of good things that are around right now – mushrooms, potato, pumpkin or butternut squash, with pasta, if you wish: anelli if you can find them, another small shape if you can’t.

Cover the top of the pasta with the slices of eggplant hanging over the sides of the pan. Top with additional eggplant slices to completely cover the pasta. Cover the bottom and sides of the pan with overlapping eggplant slices. Let the slices hang over the sides of the pan.

Anelli are best enjoyed in pasta salads or soups, particularly as a light primi, or starter, before a main meal. We enjoy this pasta shape in a creamy salad made with mayonnaise and vinegar (see below), or even in a tomato-based soup like minestrone. For a simple summer meal you could serve up your anelli with one of our pesto sauces . Timballo di pasta or Timpano is a Sicilian pasta dish that actually started as a way to use up leftover pasta bolognese. My friend Carm Ruggeri who is Sicilian explains Timballo di Pasta as "poor man's food" where all of the leftovers are baked into a cake form. Carm explains "Some people do it alla norma with eggplant, some people add pancetta. Every recipe varies from town to town." Carm suggested making it with an outer layer of roasted eggplant which looks spectacular. "We used to call it 'Ncasciata' at the restaurant which translates to encased." Indeed, it is different all over Italy and really depends on the region. When the wine has evaporated pour in the passata and mix it in well with the meat.Add the fresh basil and salt and pepper as required. Gather all your ingredients before you, the pasta, the cooked sausage, frozen peas, grated cheese, basil leaves and marinara. Mix a teaspoon or so of dried chilli flakes (or some finely chopped red chilli) with a few tablespoons of olive oil, then cautiously zigzig on top of the soup before serving.