Timpana - pastry covered maccaroni

This is a very popular Maltese dish - we would often eat it at Christmas or some other occasion. Its is a super carb dish so should be eaten in moderation! The addition of chicken livers really adds to the flavour - but can be omitted for the faint of heart! I would often make the pastry from scratch, using a semi-short recipe. I have come across some others that use puff pastry but that isn't strictly correct.

Ingredients

1.5 lb pastry

1.5 lb. macaroni

1 lb. minced meat(mixture of beef and pork)

4 oz. chicken livers

6 oz. crushed tomatoes

1 chopped onion

2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbs tomato paste

1/4 pt. chicken or vegetable stock

2 hard boiled eggs(chopped)

1 aubergine, sliced very finely and fried or grilled.

4 eggs(beaten)

2 cloves of garlic

olive oil

salt and pepper

Method

Fry the onion and garlic.

Add the meat and liver, fry until cooked.

Add the tomatoes and the tomato paste. Cook for a few seconds.

Slowly add the stock and simmer till the meat is tender.

(or you can make a bolognaise of your choice)

Boil the macaroni (al dente!) drain and cool.

Add the sauce, aubergine, cheese and hard boiled eggs and stir well.

Roll the pastry , not too thick, and put into a greased dish with enough over the edges to cover the top

Pour the mixture and cover with the pastry.

Brush the top with beaten egg

Cook in a moderate to hot oven.

You could also just put the pastry on top, to minimize the carbs (ha ha ha) but the real recipe calls for the pasta to be completely wrapped in the pastry.

Frittata di Spaghetti

A great way to use up left over spaghetti!

You can add peas, bacon or anything else that you like to the mixture. Surprisingly, this is also good cold and sliced.

Ingredients

8 oz spaghetti (or 4 cups cooked spaghetti)

4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

3 onions, chopped

2 (large) eggs

2 (large) egg whites

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbs chopped fresh parsley

2 tbs chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 tomato, diced (optional)

Method

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but firm. Drain and refresh with cold water. (or use left over spaghetti)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.

Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the onions to a small bowl and let cool slightly.

Wipe out the pan.

Whisk together eggs, egg whites and milk in a large bowl.

Stir in the onions, Parmesan, parsley, basil, salt and pepper.

Add the spaghetti.

Spray the pan well with nonstick cooking spray and place over medium heat.

Pour in the egg mixture and distribute evenly in the pan.

Cook until the underside is golden, moving the pan around on the burner to ensure even cooking, about 6 minutes.

Invert a large platter over the skillet, grasp the platter and skillet with oven mitts and carefully turn over.

Lift off the skillet and spray it again with nonstick cooking spray. Slide the frittata back into the skillet and cook until the bottom is golden.

Slide the frittata onto a platter. Garnish with tomatoes if desired.