Maltese Cuisine

Timpana

Cuisine: Maltese Created by Louis Bigeni

Timpana is the ultimate pasta pie. Macaroni is cooked separately (to under al dente stage) and added to a rich bolognaise style sauce, often with chicken livers. With the addition of eggs, the mixture is cooked in a pastry case in either a deep dish or baking tray until its golden brown.

Ingredients

500g puff pastry (frozen sheets)
500g dried macaroni or penne
300g beef mince
300g pork mince
300g chicken livers, diced (optional)
300g bacon, finely diced
500g onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
150g parmesan cheese, grated
150g tasty cheese, grated
7 eggs, beaten
200g tomato paste
200g tomato purée
500ml chicken or beef stock
150g butter
Salt and pepper

For glaze
100ml milk
1 egg, extra

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Preparation

Preheat oven to 180˚C.

Sauté the onions and garlic in butter for 5 minutes.

Add bacon and pork mince, stirring well to separate.

Add beef mince and continue stirring, cooking for 10 minutes.

Add chicken livers if using and cook for 5 minutes.

Add stock, mix well and bring to boil. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add tomato paste and tomato purée.

While the sauce is cooking, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just undercooked.

Drain and mix with sauce, adding parmesan and tasty cheese.

Stir in beaten eggs.

Line a greased baking dish with the pastry, extending it up the sides.

Spoon in sauce and cover the top with another layer of pastry which has been pricked all over with a knife to let steam escape.

Beat together glaze ingredients and paint top of timpana all over.

Bake for 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Maltese Restaurants

Displaying 4 of 4 Maltese Restaurants.

Restaurant		Suburb
1.	The Original Maltese Cafe	Surry Hills
2.	Maha Bar & Grill	Melbourne
3.	Pastizzi Cafe	Newtown
4.	Cafe Valletta	Sydney

16 Jun 2011 04:16 AEST

Bangalore

I am cooking it on Saturday

Really looks yummy. Will come back and report

22 Apr 2011 11:17 AEST

John

West Midlands

Just like I had in the 1960s

Thanks for this recipe. it will be nice to try it again. In the 1960s, I used to go to a quiet little 'cafe', in Valletta, where I would order a 'Timpani'. They were cooked in a pudding bowl, and turned out, upside down, onto a plate. There was always too much for one person to be honest, but I was young, full of life and skinny as a pikestaff. Usually I managed finish them! Delicious. JW

14 Dec 2010 09:00 AEST

Ian C. Purdie

Budgewoi NSW

Excellent - hot, cold or warmed up

This is near identical to that of my former Maltese neighbours and I've tasted it over the decades. The principal difference I can discern as they substitute "Hampers tinned Corn Beef", separated with a fork for the beef mince. They might also double the quantity. The corned beef is available from Coles, Woolworths and elsewhere.

09 Aug 2010 09:52 AEST

Rieta

Truganina

Delish

Very tasty easy to make and even pleased my fussy daughter and her partner when they came for dinner - lovely!!

01 Jun 2010 02:50 AEST

Patricia Parnis

Ontario Canada

favourit dish in my Family

I make timpana quite often I'm maltese and cook alot of maltese dishes.Whne I make timpana I do not use any meats I use Canned corned beef the sauce is the same but instead of ground beef and livers I use that and I also add ricotta with it to and it comes out really tasty.

14 Aug 2009 07:53 AEST

Trish

Wentworthville

Always popular

I have made this recipe on a number of occasions and it is always very popular. The recipe is a little bit involved but is certainly worth the effort. I always add extra tomato paste and tomato puree to make the bologanise a bit richer. This recipe can easily feed an army of people and it tastes just as good as leftovers the day after (if there is any left!)

14 May 2009 07:49 AEST

anna muscat

deer park in victoria

timpana

i am married to a maltese, and have learned to make quite a few maltese dishes. i learned a few more when we went to to europe in 2006. i always make the baked macaroni. my husband likes using the ricotta cheese insted of the tasty cheese, then i top the macaroni with parmesan cheese, and put in the oven. my husband likes his baked macaroni really crunchy, so we cook it in 180c oven for almost 2 hours. Really yummy, but will try the timpana, as the cook makes it look so easy.

11 May 2009 07:02 AEST

katy

Bathurst

comfort food on cold night

made without livers as a trial and had people for tea as first tasters and they loved it. I always try new things and have people over for there imput and it was very good. I would serve it for lunch with a salad on a cold day as a filler as it goes a long way

07 May 2009 06:04 AEST

Rhys

Wollongong

Im cooking it tomorrow.

It looked great on the telly, im going to make this tomorrow night.

09 Oct 2008 09:43 AEST

Carmen

Mossman

Very tasty

It takes a bit time to prepare and cock but it is worth the effort, very yummy.

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