Spaghetti timpano from the 1837 Italian cookbook “Cooking Practice and Theory”
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Ingredients:
10g lard
50g bread crumbs
3 tbsp olive oil
10 anchovies (or more)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
500g spaghetti
40g capers
100g salt cured black olives, chopped
270g fresh cod cut into strips
Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 200°c
Bring a pot of water to the boil for spaghetti. Cook the pasta until just before al dente.
Meanwhile:
Grease an 8 inch high rimmed cake pan with lard. Shake breadcrumbs inside to coat. Keep extra breadcrumbs aside.
Heat olive oil in a broad, rounded skillet. Add 4+ anchovies and cook until disintegrated. Off heat add parsley.
Construct:
When the pasta is ready, drain and toss in the anchovy oil on a medium flame.
Put half of the pasta in the prepared dish. Then make a layer of capers, olives, chopped anchovies and the fish.
Top with a layer of pasta and press the ingredients down.
Brush the remainder of the melted lard over the top and cover with the rest of the bread crumbs.
Bake for 1/2 hour. Tent after 10 minutes.
Turn the pasta out onto a platter and serve.
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