Sunday, September 7, 2025

Neapolitan Rice Meatball Timballo Recipe



"SARTU"

NEAPOLITAN RICE TIMBALE with MEATBALLS




 

TIMBALLO di POLPETTE


   Neapolitan Meatball / Rice Timbale 

This is a great little antipasto item they make in Naples, and places along the Amalfi Coast. It’s an excellent dish to serve, preceding a fish, meat, or pasta course of any type, especially pasta with mussels or Spaghetti Vongole. This makes a great buffet or picnic lunch item with frittata, salumi, cheese, and fruit to go along in your picnic basket. As we’ve said, one of these timballo makes a wonderful antipasto, or you can serve two or three on a plate for a nice hearty main-course.


I also suggest, if you like, double the size of the meatball recipe below, to make a larger batch, if you want some leftover meatballs to make Meatball Sandwiches the next day, or serve one timballo on a plate with 3 or 4 meatballs for another great alternative main-course dish. 





INGREDIENTS :
1 pound Arborio Rice
1 small Onion, peeled and diced fine
3/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
4 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup Tomato Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Salt

 

MEATBALLS INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces ground Bee1 large Egg
1/2 teaspoon each of Salt & Black Black Pepper 
1/2 cup Breadcrumbs mixed with 1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1/4 cup Italian Parsley, chopped fine
Vegetable Oil for Frying Meatballs
1/4 cup Flour

NOTE : Bake these Timballi in a standard Muffin Pan, or individual molds if you have them. Grease your muffin pan (or molds) with softened butter.

 

FILLING INGREDIENTS :
1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
1/2 cup Provolone or Caciocavallo Cheese
1/c cup Boiled Ham, diced

 

  • MEATBALLS PREPARATION 

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the ground Beef, Salt & Black Pepper, grated Parmigiano, chopped Parlsey, breadcrumbs, and Egg, mix until well incorporated.

  • Shape the beef mixture into small meatballs, a bit smaller than a Walnut and place on a dry sheet pan. Once all the meat has been formed into small meatballs, take each meatball and dredge in the flour to coat lightly. Shake off excess flour and place the meatball back on the pan. Repeat until all the meatballs have been coated with the flour.

  • Pour the vegetable oil into a non-stick pan, and heat over high heat until the oil is at frying temp. Cook the meatballs in two batches over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs on all sides, then place on pan with paper towels to absorb the excess oil. 

  • Set meatballs aside to cool.

  • Rice Preparation :

  • Fill a large pot with the Olive Oil and chopped Onion and cook on medium heat for 4 minutes. Add rice and 1/2 teaspoon Salt and cook for 2 minutes on low heat. Add 2 quarts of water and bring to the boil.  Cook the rice at a medium simmer for 12 minutes. Drain rice in a wire strainer or colander.

  • Let the rice cool for 5 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of White Pepper to the rice and mix. Add 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano to rice and mix. Add 1 cup Tomato Sauce to rice and mix.

  • Meanwhile butter the molds and set aside.

  • Form a layer of rice at the base and in the edges and press with the back of the spoon, place the ham in the center, the Provolone and a Meatball, a little tomato sauce and a bit of Parmesan, cover with rice. 

  • Bake in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 18 minutes.

  • As the timballi are baking, heat remaining tomato sauce.

  • Remove from the oven to cool for 5 minutes, gently flip on a plate.

  • Place a little tomato sauce on a plate, place one Timballo on top of sauce, then garnish with a nice Basil Flower for each. Serve your guests.

This Recipe has been Excerpted from Daniel Bellino Zwicke's new forthcoming book (February 2021)  POSITANO The AMALFI COST COOKBOOK - Travel Guide
Broadway Fifth Press,  New York, NY



 
 
 
 


POSITANO is COMING !!!!
 
POSITANO The AMALFI COAST COOKBOOK
 
TRAVEL GUIDE
 
 
RECIPES of POSITANO - NAPLES - The AMALFI COAST
 
And TRAVEL GUIDE by Bestselling Italian Cookbook Author
 
DANIEL BELLINO ZWICKE
 
COMING February 2021
 
Will be Available on AMAZON.com
.
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

What is Red Sauce

 



"RED SAUCE"




What is Red Sauce? A question often asked. Well, there is no one sauce that is Red Sauce. When using the term "Red Sauce," you are talking about any one of several different Italian Sauce (Italian-American), made with Tomatoes, and mostly served on and of 100 types of different pastas (Maccheroni), but not only on Maccheroni.
Red Sauce can be a Tomato Sauce, without any meat in it, just tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and fresh basil, and maybe oregano, or not. Then the other Sauce that falls into the category known as "Red Sauce," is what is known as Sunday Sauce, Gravy, "Gravy," or simply SAUCE. These are all Red Sauce's. These Red Sauce's that have meat in them might be made with tomatoes of course that have Sausages, Meatballs, and Braciole, and other meats according to what the person cooking it likes in his Sunday Sauce (Sunday Gravy, Gravy). For instance, my favorite way of making Sunday Sauce, is with Sausages, Meatballs, and Pork Spare Ribs slowly cooked in the sauce. But I don't always make it this way, I with it up according to my mood. Sometimes I make it with Sausages, Meatballs, & Pork Ribs, while other times I might replace the Meatballs with Chicken Thighs and make my "Sauce" with  Sausages, Ribs, & Chicken Thighs. Yes, I said "Chicken thighs which taste great, slowly cooked in the Sauce. All of these sauces mention, are Red Sauces.

When making the a Sunday Sauce, I make enough to last at least 3 days, and we get a number of meals out of the one sauce. You put the time in to make the sauce, you should make it last. It take about the same time to make a small pot of sauce as it does to make one two or three times larger. It doesn't make sense to me to make a small pot of sauce, that I will only get 1 or two meals from. I want to get a minimum of 4 meals or more out of the one pot of sauce. For example, when I make a sauce that has meatballs in it, I always want a good amount of meatballs in the sauce. We eat the Maccheroni with all the meats, the Sausages, Ribs, & Meatballs on Sunday. Monday rolls around, which is what I (Daniel Bellino Zwicke) have coined years ago, "Meatball Parm Mondays" which I wrote about in my book Sunday Sauce, way back in 2013. So, "Meatball Parm Mondays?" We Italian (Italian-American) men love our Meatball Parm Sandwiches. We make the Sunday Sauce on Sunday (sometimes Saturday), and we eat it with Maccheroni (short pasta) on Sunday. When Monday rolls around, we take the leftover Meatballs from the previous days Sunday Sauce, and we make Meatball Sandwiches for Monday's lunch or dinner, and we are happy campers. On Tuesday, whatever is left of the Sunday Sauce, we'll cook up some Maccheroni, and eat it with whatever is leftover from the sauce made on Sunday. Maybe it's just tomato sauce which is left, which we dress the Maccheroni with. Maybe there's a little meat left which is thrown on as well. Sometimes I'll put quite a good amount of Sausages in the Sauce when I make it on Sunday, and if any sausages are left in the sauce come Tuesday, I might make a Sausage Sandwich. You see, you want to get a lot out of that one Sauce that you make on Sunday. Take my advice, and do it.
 
Red Sauce (Tomato Sauce) is the backbone of Italian-American cooking, which many dishes are made with tomato sauce. You use Red Sauce to make dishes like: Eggplant Parmigiana, Chicken Parm, Lasagna, Baked Maccheroni, Eggplant Rolatini, baked Ziti, and more.

Oh, by the way. Some Italians use the term Red Sauce, but it is more of a non Italian-American thing than an Italian-American thing. Americans who are not of Italian heritage, are the people who use this term (Red Sauce) most. Some Italian-Americans use the term, but when talking about a sauce, Italian-Americans are more prone to using the actual name of the sauce, saying, Marinara or Marinara Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Sunday Sauce, "Gravy," or Sunday Sauce, than using the term "Red Sauce," which is used more by non-Italian. Food writers often use the term Red Sauce when writing about what are termed Old School Italian restaurants. The term Red Sauce Joint refers to old school Italian restaurants, in which are large part of the menu items have tomato sauce (red sauce) in the dish, such as: Manicotti, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Lasagna, Eggplant Parmigiana, Ravioli, and other dishes.

Then there is the great debate, on Sunday Sauce, Sauce, Gravy, and Sunday Sauce, which are all sauces made with various meats that are slowly cooked with tomatoes. Many call it Sunday Sauce, and some call it Gravy. It all depends on what your family comes from where your origins are in Italy, and what Italian Enclave you live in in America, whether in Brooklyn, Jersey, Boston, Baltimore, or New York. What do you call it? Don't get in a tiff over it. The most important thing to remember, is the taste of your Sunday Sauce, and the people you share it with. The Sauce must be tasty. That goes without saying. Enjoy!



Daniel Bellino Zwicke











SUNDAY SAUCE 

LEARN HOW to MAKE "RED SAUCE"

All DIFFERENT KINDS !!!