Name: Pasticcio di Maccheroni (Laura Mansi Salom’s Timbale of Pasta and Meats Enclosed in a Pastry Crust)
Yield: Serves 12
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 1 carrot, finely chopped; 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; 1 celery rib, finely chopped; 1 onion, finely chopped; 11 ounces ground beef; 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon water; 1 pound (or a little more) short pasta such as penne or rigatoni; A pinch of salt; 2¼ cups (11 ounces) unbleached all-purpose or all-purpose flour; 2 scant ounces dried porcini mushrooms; 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt; 2 cups warm water; Freshly ground black pepper; 4 quarts water; 6 to 8 gratings of fresh nutmeg; 3½ cups milk; ¼ cup reserved porcini mushroom liquid; 1 egg yolk; ½ cup (3½ ounces) sugar; 1 lemon; 1 egg; ¼ chicken breast, boned and cut in small dice; 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour; 1½ teaspoons unsalted butter; 3½ tablespoons unsalted butter; ¼ cup (1 ounce) unbleached all-purpose flour; Salt; 3½ ounces finely diced ham; 7 ounces chicken livers, finely chopped; 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter

Preparation info

Serves
12

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

In Nonna's Kitchen

By Carol Field

Published 1997

About

A Renaissance extravaganza, this rich pasta and meat dish with its slightly sweet pastry crust probably comes from the days of sumptuary laws when Tuscans were enjoined from eating more than three courses two times a day. Wily bon vivants dreamed up a delicious way to bypass such strictures by incorporating the ingredients of several courses into one dish and wrapping them all inside a single pastry crust.

Although this is definitely a complicated dish, its various sauces and the pa