Baked pasta dishes

Pasticci are made with various kinds of pasta and other ingredients. The distinguishing characteristic of these dishes is that the ingredients are prepared separately and then united for a final baking in the oven. The most familiar types of pasticci are baked lasagne and macaroni cheese. Very often they are topped with a béchamel sauce or a mixture of eggs and cheese. Although definitely retro, pasticci are still often made in Italian homes. So I decided to include those I liked best.

Pasticci are among the oldest pasta dishes. They were frequently served at elegant dinners in the eighteenth century and at that time they were usually known as timballi or timpani. Nowadays the words timballo and timpano are seldom used, except when referring to dishes of the past.