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Mozart lived in Italy for a certain period between 1770 and 1773, producing there 3 important operas, Mitridate Re di Ponto (1770), Ascanio in Alba (1771), Lucio Silla (1772).

During that period, Mozart and his father must have certainly eaten many typical Italian Rice dishes, already very famous there, like the Rice Timballi.

Enjoy these original Mozartian recipes!

The English modern version of these recipes is an exclusive property of MozartCircle.
Pheasant & Mozart
Mozart &
the Art of Rice & Timballi!
The Rice Series No. 3
1. Rice Timballo the Italian Way (1790)
2. Rice Timballo with Truffles (1773)
A series of famous rice recipes which were already very popular, when Mozart & his father Leopold visited Italy for the first time in 1770, and which soon became international dishes!
DIFFICULTY:
Rice Timballo &... Truffles galore!
1. RICE TIMBALLO THE ITALIAN WAY (1790)

For this kind of recipe you need a particular type of rice called Roma. This dish, the Timballo, receives a peculiar shape thanks to a mould.

INGREDIENTS:

Serving 8...

Meat Stock (ca. 2 l.; use meat of your choice and then at least, 100gr. onions, 160gr. butter, 2dl. white wine, 2 small finely minced clove of garlic, salt and crushed pepper)
Rice (675gr.; type Roma or similar to be used for Timballi)
Beef Bone Marrow (90gr.; or some other butter instead)
Salt
Pepper (crushed)
Nutmeg
Chicken combs & kidneys (pre-cooked in white Veal Stock)

Egg yolks (6; fresh)
Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese (grated; 120gr. / or Grana Padano Cheese)
Egg yolks (4; fresh)
Egg white (2; fresh)
Lardo (ca. 250gr. in slices better a good spiced one, like the Lard d'Arnad)
Butter (for the mould)

For the Ragout:
Prepare a Ragout with these ingredients:
Sweetbreads of heifer (1 or 2; chopped; or of young goat)
Truffles (4 or 5; black of superior quality; cut in slices)
St. George mushrooms or Portobello mushrooms
Ham (200gr.; in slices)
Butter (100gr.)
Champagne or Alsatian white wine (1/2 glass)
Chicken livers
Chicken combs
Chicken kidneys
Tails of Shrimps
Small tender Artichokes (cut into pieces)
Salt
Pepper (crushed)
Nutmeg
1 small red onion (peeled, cut into thin rings)
1 clove garlic (peeled and chopped into slithers)
1 small carrot (cut into round slices)
rosemary

For the Sauce of Ham:
Prepare the Sauce of Ham with these ingredients:
Ham (cut into cubes)
Heifer (a few cubes of meat of)
Carrots (cut into cubes)
Bread (grated)
Onion (1 cut into cubes)
Roots of Parsley (cut into cubes)
Shallots (2; cut into cubes)
Garlic (1 clove; finely minced)
Butter (ca. 50gr.)
Champagne or Alsatian white wine (1/2 glass)
light veal stock (Restoran
Salt
Pepper (crushed)

METHOD:

1. Prepare the meat stock and when it is ready, prepare a pan where to cook the Rice (Risotto).

2. Let the Rice cook in the Beef Bone Marrow only for ca. 5/7 min. Always stir the Rice with a wooden spoon. When the Rice is ready, add the Meat Stock.

3. Prepare the usual Risotto: when the Rice has absorbed all the Stock, add some other stock and keep stirring the Rice with a wooden spoon.

4. The Risotto will be ready after ca. 15/18 min.: do not overcook it, do not burn it. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

5. When the Risotto is ready, it must be rather dry (not too much sauce!). While it starts cooling add 6 fresh egg yolks to it and stir with the wooden spoon.

6. Now let the Risotto completely cool down. Then add another 4 fresh egg yolks and the white of 2 fresh eggs, ca. 120gr. of Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano Cheese and well stir the Rice with the wooden spoon.

7. Prepare the mould. Grease the mould with butter. Then create a first layer of slices of Lardo, so that you cover all the mould.

8. Now prepare the Ragout Melé in this way:
Cook Sweetbreads, Truffles, Mushrooms, Ham, Onion, Garlic, Carrots in a pan with butter. After some time add all the other ingredients. Let it cook by adding some white wine. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer for a while, then add some flour and some milk cream to complete the white ragout, until you get a smooth cream.

9. When your ragout is ready, in the mould create a second layer of pre-cooked Chicken Combs & Kidneys on the first layer of Lardo. Then pour the Rice into the mould onto the Chicken Combs & Kidneys. Open a hole at the very centre of the rice. There you will pour the Ragout Melé. Now pour the remainder of the Rice onto the Ragout Melé, until you have completely filled the mould.

10. Put the mould in oven, until it is ready and until it gets a wonderful golden colour.

11. In the meanwhile, prepare the Sauce of Ham. Put all the ingredients in a pan with some butter. Let it simmer and add white wine and stock, while cooking. Stir with a spoon. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. When it's ready, strain the sauce through a sieve, in order to get a fine very smooth sauce of ham.

12. When the Timballo is ready, carefully remove it from the mould. Put it onto a large plate to serve. Pour the Sauce of Ham of the Top of the Timballo and serve in this way.

NOTES:
If you want a richer Timballo, when serving it, you can put a few stuffed & roasted thrushes on the Timballo itself, along with some pre-cooked beef spinal cords (i.e. the schinali: once beef spinal cord was considered a delicacy; today it is very rare for various reasons).

TIMBALLO DI RISO ALL'ITALIANA
Capate e lavate bene con acqua tiepida una libbra e mezza dì riso, mettetelo in una cazzarola bene asciugato, con tre oncie di midollo di manzo raschiato, e passato al setaccio, passatelo sopra un fuoco leggiero mezzo quarto d’ora, indi bagnatelo poco per volta con brodo colorito di sostanza, conditelo di sale, pepe schiacciato, e noce moscata, fatelo cuocere piu di due terzi, e che sia molto asciutto, poscia tiratelo indietro, metteteci sei rossi d’uova fresche, mescolandoli bene col riso. Quando sarà freddo aggiungeteci tre pugni di parmigiano grattato, ed altri quattro rossi d’uova e due bianchi, mescolate di nuovo. Prendete una cazzarola giusta alla quantità del riso, copritela tutta al di dentro di striscie di carta imbutirrate; e guarnite tutto il fondo, ed all'intorno di creste, e granelletti di pollastro cotte in un bianco, e distribuito con simetria; metteci dentro il riso poco per volta, e con diligenza, acciò non si guasti la guarnizione, ciò che farete colla cucchiaia bagnata con uovo sbattuto, o colla mano ben pulita bagnata egualmente, fateci un buco nel mezzo nel quale porrete un Ragù melè ristretto, coprite col resto del riso, che la cazzarola sia piena, appianatela sopra col coltello, e uovo sbattuto, fatelo cuocere un’ora a Bagno maria in un forno temperato. Allorché il Timballo sarà cotto, fatelo alquanto riposare fuori dell’acqua; indi rivoltatelo sopra un coperchio, alzate leggiermente la cazzarola, levate i fogli di carta, ponetelo sopra il suo piatto con attenzione acciò non si rompa, e servitelo con sopra una Salsa al Culì di prosciutto. Se la cazzarola sarà coperta di fette di lardo in luogo di carta, lo potete far cuocere ad un forno temperato. Potete anche guarnire il Timballo di Tordi disossati ripieni e cotti, contornati di schinali.

RAGÙ MELÉ
Mettete in una cazzarola, una o due animelle di mongana imbianchite all’acqua bollente, e tagliate in grossi pezzi, o animelle di capretto, o di abbacchio imbianchite egualmente, e intere, tartufi in fette, prugnoli sani, una fetta di prosciutto, un mazzetto d’erbe diverse, un pezzo di butirro; passate sopra il fuoco, indi bagnate con poco culì, mezzo bicchiere di vino di Sciampagna, o altro vino bianco consumato due terzi, condite con sale, pepe schiacciato; fate cuocere dolcemente, poscia digrassate, levate il prosciutto, e mazzetto, aggiungeteci fegatini di pollo, creste, granelletti, uovette nonnate, code di gamberi, culi di carciofi, il tutto cotto, e bene appropriato; fate bollire ancora un momento, e che le uovette siano l'ultime a mettere nel Ragù. [...] Se volete servirvi di questo Ragù per riempire una Granada, un Timballo ec., dovete farlo con poca Salsa, e senza uovette nonnate, e Chenef.

CULÌ DI PROSCIUTTO
Ponete in una cazzarola dei dadini dì prosciutto, secondo la quantità del culì, che volete fare, aggiungeteci qualche poco di mongana, carota, panè, cipolla, radica di petrosemolo, egualmente tagliato in dadini, due scalogne, e uno spicchio d’aglio; passate il tutto sopra il fuoco con un pezzo di butirro. Allorché principierà a rosolare leggermente metteteci mezzo bicchiere di vino di Sciampagna, o altro vino bianco, fatelo consumare di nuovo, bagnatelo con Culì di vitella, e un poco di Restoran, o altro brodo buono, alquanto colorito. Fatelo bollire dolcemente. Quando la carne sarà cotta digrassatelo, passatelo alla stamina in una terrina, avendo attenzione che non sia salato.


 
2. RICE TIMBALLO WITH TRUFFLES (1773)

Serving 4...

INGREDIENTS:
Meat Stock (ca. 0,5 l.; use meat of your choice and then at least, 100gr. onions, 160gr. butter, 2dl. white wine, 2 small finely minced clove of garlic, salt and crushed pepper)
Rice (ca. 320gr.; type Roma or similar to be used for Timballi)
Milk (ca. 0,5 l.)
Truffles (5 or 6; black type of superior quality; chopped)
Egg yolks (8; fresh)
Milk Cream (25cl.)
Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano Cheese (200gr.; grated)
Butter (100gr.)
Salt
Pepper (crushed)
Nutmeg

Puff Pastry or Eggs Crust Pastry (i.e. Mezza Pasta Frolla)
For the Eggs Crust Pastry:
Flour (450gr.)
Egg Yolks (2; fresh; NO WHITE!)
Lard or Butter (150gr.)
Water (fresh cold water)
Salt (a pinch; NO SUGAR!)

  
METHOD:

1. Since the modern Italian style of cooking the Rice (Risotto) was invented just a few years before 1773, you can use the usual method of preparing the Risotto, but in this case, instead of preparing a soffritto, use 2-3 tablespoons of meat stock. Moreover, follow the instructions for the previous recipe about the method of cooking the Rice (Risotto) and the time necessary for a good result (ca. 16-18 min.).

2. Let the Rice cook in the 2-3 tablespoons of meat stock with the Truffles, instead of the soffritto. Always stir the Rice with a wooden spoon. When the Rice has absorbed all the stock, pour a good ladle of Meat Stock and of Milk in the pan and go on in this way for ca. 16-18 min. Let the Rice cook and always stir with the wooden spoon. Adjust pepper and salt to taste.

3. When the Rice is ready, let it cool down and add the Egg yolks, the grated Cheese, the butter and the Milk cream. Stir well. Adjust pepper and salt to taste.

4. Now you can use a Puff Pastry or an Eggs Crust Pastry (i.e. mezza pasta frolla). If you want to use the Eggs Crust Pastry, prepare it, by using the same method as the Pate Sucree Pastry but without sugar.

5. Now grease the mould with butter. Put the Puff Pastry or the Eggs Crust Pastry into the mould.

6. Pour all the Rice into the Pastry layer in the mould. If you want, you can create decorations with some pieces of pastry.

7. Put the mould in oven. When the pastry is ready and gets a wonderful golden colour, your Timballo with Truffles is ready.

TIMBALLO DI RISO AI TARTUFI
Soffritto il Riso con butirro e tartufi triti, si farà pian piano cuocere con latte di Vacca, condito di spezie; poi legato con gialli d’uova, panna di latte, parmegiano, e butirro, si metterà nella pasta, quale cotta si servirà il Timballo. La pasta per i Timballi è la sfogliata, o la mezza frolla, ma senza zucchero.

La mezza Frolla si forma con tre libre di fior di farina, sei gialli d'uova; una libra di sugna, ed un poco di sale [...] e tant’acqua, che resti di giusta morbidezza.