TIMBALE OF MACARONI WITH CHEESE

Identity Card of the Recipe

159 KCal Calories per serving

Ingrediants

400 g of pasta
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
100 g of stracchino
100 g of Cheddar
1 grated nutmeg
Q.b. of pepper
Q.b. of salt
60 g of white flour of type 00
600 ml of milk
20 g of breadcrumbs

Materials Needed

Hinged pan with a diameter of 24 cm
Casseroles
Whip
Mixer

Preparation

Boil the pasta (macaroni, in this case) in lightly salted water, taking care to drain it al dente: for cooking, it is advisable to cook the pasta by calculating a couple of minutes less than the time recommended in the package.
Drain the pasta and combine it in a bowl. Allow to cool and, if desired, add a drizzle of oil to prevent the dough from sticking.
Blend the cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese.
Line a hinged pan with a diameter of 24 cm with parchment paper: alternatively, butter it and sprinkle it with a little breadcrumbs.
Arrange the macaroni neatly in the pan, vertically, placing them on top of each other until the mold is filled.
Prepare the béchamel without butter. Dissolve the flour in about 150 ml of cold milk and add a teaspoon of tomato paste. Pour the remaining milk into a saucepan and heat it until it just comes to a boil. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
When the milk is hot, add the starch dissolved in the cold milk and bring to the boil while continuing to mix with the whisk to avoid the formation of lumps.
Turn off the heat and enrich the béchamel with the chopped cheeses (keeping aside a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese) and with the stracchino.
Pour the hot bechamel over the macaroni and sprinkle the surface with a little breadcrumbs and the parmesan cheese kept aside.

Alternative ideas
As an alternative to macaroni, it is possible to use any other type of pasta (eg penne, celery, half sleeves, etc.): the recipe can be considered as a recovery dish, using the pasta left over from the day before.
Here we have proposed the cheese version, but it is possible to prepare the timbale of macaroni with bechamel and mushroom sauce, or with meat sauce.

Place the timbale in the oven and bake at 180 ° C for about 25-30 minutes. To best brown the surface, it is advisable to turn on the grill of the oven during the last five minutes of cooking.
Open the hinge of the pan and serve the timbale of sliced macaroni.

Alice's comment - PersonalCooker

The beauty of this recipe is that it can also be prepared with pasta left over from the day before: it is a demonstration of how leftovers - with a few tricks - can take on a new look and turn into a perfect dish to serve on the most important occasions!

Nutritional values and Health Comment on the recipe

The Timballo di Maccheroni al Formaggio is a recipe that is one of the first courses.
It has a not too high energy intake, even if the translation includes the absorption of the pasta in cooking but does not take into account the dehydration of the bechamel.
Energy is mainly supplied by carbohydrates, followed by lipids and finally by proteins.
The peptides are of medium and high biological value, the fatty acids mainly of the saturated type and the mainly complex carbohydrates (starch).
Cholesterol is not relevant, as are fibers.
It is a preparation that does not lend itself to any diet. For example, it cannot be included in the vegan diet but is allowed in the vegetarian lacto-ovo diet. If you are overweight, your portion should be smaller.
It should not be included in the diet against metabolic diseases. It is also to be avoided in the diet for celiac disease and lactose intolerance.
The average portion of Timballo di Maccheroni al Formaggio is about 150-250g (240-400kcal).