Lasagna with Crêpes and Meatballs (Italian Timballo alla Teramano)

More than just a scrumptious Abruzzo 'pie', Timballo alla Teramana is a cook's panoramic photograph of the fertile Teramo landscape. Its layers of scrippelle (water-based veil-like pancakes that mean crêpe in dialect), mirror the strata of limestone and dolomite that uniquely form and fuse to create the Gran Sasso d'Italia, the province's largest mountain range. Walking here, in-between or on top of those layers sit plump, undulating pastures, streams, rivers and crevices and fallen rock all combine to give the impression of the tiny meatballs, polpettine (locally known as pallottine), a rich ragù sauce, spinach or artichokes and scamorza that are richly layered in this dish. Most families have tweaked adoptions of some sorts at Christmas, it's a tradition that dates back to Roman Emperor Constantine who adopted Christianity but insisted that it was celebrated on the official birthday of the Roman sun god Sol Invictus ("Invincible Sun") on the 25th December.

Ragù:
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
1 carrot, grated
1 rib celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
butter
minced pork loin (60 g)
minced beef (300 g)
dry white wine (50 mL)
tomato purée (50 g)
1 small bunch mixed herbs, such as; rosemary, thyme

Crêpes:
00 flour (250 g)
3 eggs
water (250 mL)
milk (250 mL)
butter (30 g)
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Tomato Sauce:
1 white onion
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
1 small bunch fresh basil
2 black olives
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ chili
passata (600 g)

Meatballs:
lean veal meat, finely minced (150 g)
1 egg
1 slice white bread, soaked in milk
sea salt
black pepper, freshly cracked
nutmeg (4 g)

Assembly:
fresh large leaf spinach (200 g)
1 egg
sea salt
tomato sauce (250g)
mini meatballs (300 g)
garden peas (150 g)
fior di latte mozzarella diced (250 g)
Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (200 g)
butter (40 g)

For the Ragù:
Sweat the chopped onion in a saucepan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Add the other vegetables and garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Then add a knob of butter and the pork and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the minced beef and season with kosher or sea salt black pepper, freshly cracked.

Cook for about 30-35 minutes until the meat has browned a bit. Pour in the white wine, and allow the alcohol to evaporate. Add a ladle full of water and the tomato purée. Then add some chopped rosemary and thyme and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the Tomato Sauce:
Chop the onion roughly. In a large casserole dish, sweat the onion with the exra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook until they start to caramelise, this wil bring out all the lovely sweetness of the onions. Once the onion is done add basil, olives and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the chili. When the onion, garlic and basil are golden pour the passata in. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Let it simmer for 15 minutes. A good tomato sauce does not need to be cooked for hours, no more than 30 minutes. The tomato sauce should be thicker, having been reduced by a third.

For the Mini Meatballs:
Knead together the meat with the egg and the bread until smooth. Season with salt pepper and nutmeg. Roll the meatballs, they should weigh between 2-4 g each maximum.

Dust the meatballs with flour and quickly cook them with a tsp. of olive oil and a knob of butter, fry till golden and crispy.

Prepare the Crêpes:
Combine flour with the egg, water, milk and melted butter in a blender. Blend well, add a pinch of salt and pass the mixture through a fine sieve to avoid lumps. Heat a small nonstick frying pan with a drop of extra virgin olive oil. Use a kitchen towel to spread the oil evenly on the surface of the pan. Pour a ladle for crêpe mixture into the drying pan. Allow the mixture to spread over the surface of the pan and cook 1 minute on each side on medium heat. Repeat until the mixture is finished. This should make approximately 30-35 crêpes to cool down on a tea towel.

Preheat an oven to at 150C. Grease a baking tray with butter.

Cook the spinach and peas. Cool down in iced water to retain their colour.

Prepare an egg wash by beating the egg and well and dressing with salt and pepper.

Assembly:
Start to place a first layer of crêpes on the bottom of the tray. Make sure the sides are also covered. Then proceed to layer with a spoon of tomato sauce, beef ragù, mini meatballs, spinach, peas, mozzarella and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

Finish with a spoon of the egg wash, cover with a couple of crêpes and repeat the operations until there is no more crêpes.

This will create a multi-layered lasagne like bake. Leave a few crêpes to cover the timballo. Spread a couple of knobs of butter over the top of the timballo.

Bake for 45 minutes.

It will be golden on the outside, keep an eye on the cooking after 20 minutes. If it rises too much, pierce a hole through the layers for it to reduce in size. it is still very wobbly, allow another 10 minutes to cook and lower the temperature to 250°F (120°C/100°C fan, Gas Mark 0.5-1).

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serve.