Baked Angel Hair Timbale

I've had many inquiries about what is pictured at the top of this blog, so I thought I'd post it. From Giada De Laurentiis' book "Giada's Family Dinners", a book I highly recommend for several great recipes, this recipe is quite tasty. I've actually been pleased with all the recipes I've tried from her book so far. Check it out! Here is the Baked Timbale. It calls for eggplant, but I can't find the Japanese variety, which, from what I read, is more mild tasting than regular eggplant. My husband is not a fan of eggplant so I use zucchini.

1/3 Cup plus 1/4 Cup Olive Oil

6 Japanese Eggplants (about 2 pounds total), cut into 1 inch cubes--or zucchini.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound turkey sausage, casings removed

1/3 cup dry red wine

3 cups marinara sauce

1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper flakes

8 ounces angel hair pasta

1 (17 1/4 ounce) package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

1 pound mozzarella cheese, diced

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat 1/3 cup of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high neat. Add half of the eggplant cups and toss to coat in the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Saute the eggplant until it is golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Decrease the heat to medium.

Add half of the garlic and saute until it is tender, about 2 minutes longer. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the eggplant mixture to a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining 1/4 cup of oil and the remaining eggplant and garlic. Add to the bowl with the first batch.

Add the sausage and wine to the same frying pan. Cook over medium-high heat until the wine evaporates and the sausage is brown, breaking the sausage into pieces, about 8 minutes. Add the sausage, marinara, red pepper flakes to the bowl with eggplant mixture and toss to combine.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Drain. Toss the angel hair with eggplant mixture. Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Roll out 1 pastry sheet on a floured surface to a 13 1/2 inch square. Transfer to a 9 inch spring form pan, allowing the excess pastry to hang over rim.

Add the Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to cooled mixture and toss to combine. Spoon mixture into pan. Roll out second pastry sheet to 13 inch square and place over pasta filling. Pinch the edges together to seal. Trim overhanging pastry edges to about 1 inch. Fold the remaining edge to form a decorative border. Cut a slit in the center for steam.

Bake until pastry is brown and puffed on top, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let stand for 20 minutes. Remove sides of pan and serve!