Rice and Eggplant Timballo

It's hard for me to believe that my second book, "Big Night In," was published way back in 2008. The book (subtitled 'More than 100 Recipes for Feeding Family and Friends Italian-Style') is a collection of recipes for casual entertaining. It contains (among many others) my mother's recipe for Lasagne Verde alla Bolognese, and her Pizza Rustica; plus my Zia Gilda's Insalata di Riso, and my own recipe for cheese-filled ravioli in saffron-butter sauce.

Some of my all-time favorite desserts are in the dessert chapter, including Apricot Semifreddo, Lemon Crostata, Baked Farro Pudding, and a truly decadent Mocha-Grappa Torte.

"Big Night In" was named one of the 'best cookbooks of the year' by the editors of Food and Wine magazine, and was included in their "Best of the Best" compilation cookbook. It received other praise, but (alas!) the book was a slow seller and went out of print a few years later (the vagaries of the publishing industry).

I still cook from it often, though, and one dish I especially enjoy making in summer is this molded rice and eggplant timballo. The recipe requires several steps but none are difficult:

1. You need to make a simple tomato sauce ~ as easy as sautéing garlic in olive oil and pouring in canned tomatoes.

2. You need to fry slices of eggplant, or eggplant and zucchini ~ as I did in the slightly adapted version here.

3. You have to cook rice in boiling salted water.

The rest is assembly and baking. If there's a challenging step in the process, it's the unmolding of the timballo once it's out of the oven. You can see mine isn't perfect; but its imperfection adds to its rustic appeal. You can serve this timballo warm; or you can serve it at room temperature, which is how I tend to prefer it summer.

Bonus: Cold leftovers are excellent.

Double bonus: "Big Night In" may be out of print, but it is still readily available on Amazon and elsewhere on the web.

RICE AND EGGPLANT TIMBALLO
Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients
1 medium or 2 smallish eggplants (8 ounces total)
4 smallish zucchini (8 ounces total)
Kosher or sea salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing a ring pan
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes, passed through a food mill
1/4 cup shredded basil leaves, plus a sprig or two for garnish
Sunflower oil for frying
2 cups Arborio or Carnaroli (risotto) rice
4 ounces cacio di Roma or another semi-soft Italian cheese (Asiago fresco is also good)
4 ounces smoked mozzarella (regular fresh mozzarella also works)
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint, plus one or two sprigs for garnish
1/2 cup unseasoned dry breadcrumbs

Instructions
1. Trim the ends off the eggplant and zucchini and cut them crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Salt slightly and layer them in a colander set over a bowl. Set a plate over the slices and weight it down with a heavy object. Let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Place 4 tablespoons olive oil and the garlic in a medium saute pan. skillet. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook 2-3 minutes, until the garlic starts to release its aroma. Press down with a spoon to infuse the oil with the garlic. Stir in the tomatoes, and season with a little salt. Bring to a simmer and cook the sauce for 20 to 30 minutes, until thickened. Add more salt if necessary. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

3. Dry the eggplant and zucchini slices with a clean kitchen towel or paper towels. Heat about 1/4 inch sunflower oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the sliced vegetables in batches, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes total per batch. Drain the slices on a paper towel-lined plate or a brown paper bag.

4. Place 7 cups water in a large heavy-bottomed pot and stir in 1 tablespoon salt. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat and stir in the rice. Boil the rice, uncovered, for 13 to 15 minutes, reducing the heat if necessary to prevent it from boiling over, until the rice is al dente ~ still a bit firm in the center. Drain the rice in a colander in the sink and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.

5. Stir the tomato sauce into the rice. Cut the cheeses into small cubes and fold them into the rice. Gently fold in the pecorino cheese and the chopped mint.

6. Grease a 10-inch-by- 3-inch ring pan with extra-virgin olive oil and coat it with half the breadcrumbs. Spoon one-third of the rice and cheese mixture into the pan, smoothing it out with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to make an even layer. Arrange the zucchini slices over the rice in (more or less) a single layer. Spoon a second layer of rice over the zucchini, and then arrange the eggplant slices over that. Top with the remaining rice. Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs evenly over the top. The timballo may be refrigerated at this point for several hours or overnight. Remove it from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before baking.

7. Heat the oven to 450F. Bake the timballo for 25 to 30 minutes, until you can hear it bubbling and the breadcrumb topping is golden-brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin metal spatula around the inside edge of the timballo pan and around the center ring. Place a serving platter over the pan and carefully invert the pan to unmold the timballo onto the platter. Garnish it with sprigs of basil and/or mint right before serving.