green pea timbales

You Say Timbale. I Say Teem-Bah-Les.

I’m not quite sure how to pronounce “timbales” (2 syllables or 3) – it seems to depend on whether or not you are using the French or Spanish pronunciation.

The name derives from “kettledrum” after the drum-like mold in which the dish is baked.

Growing up I was a drummer and we often played drums called “timbales.” We pronounced them like this.

So put on your best Charo or Sofia Vergara accent (your choice) and let’s get cookin’!

Foodie Tips ~

♥  In a hurry? I think you can substitute canned peas for the frozen and save yourself a step. And a pot to clean.

♥  I must have been a salt block lovin’ cow in a former life. For some reason I couldn’t get enough salt on these so I used more than what was noted below.

♥  White Pepper? Didn’t find it at my grocery. I just used fresh cracked black pepper. Sorry, Mom!

♥  I don’t own any custard cups so I used the 4 ramekins, shown below. As a result I made larger timbales which required a little more time cooking. If you’re not planning on eating this as your only item I’d suggest making 6 and serving as a side.

i. ingredients

10 ounces | frozen peas
1 cup | cooked rice
1 cup | chicken broth
½ cup | cream
4 | cage free eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon | parsley, chopped
¼ teaspoon | celery salt
¼ teaspoon | onion salt

for the sauce:
1 cup | falfurrias brand butter
¾ cup | celery tops, finely chopped
¼ cup | flour
¼ teaspoon | salt
⅛ teaspoon | celery salt
⅛ teaspoon | white pepper
2 cups | milk
to garnish | more chopped parsley

ii. what to do

0. Heat oven to 325°F.

1. Cook the peas and drain. Combine the peas with the next seven ingredients – the rice, broth, cream, eggs, parsley, celery salt and onion salt.

2. Grease 6 custard cups (or ramekins) and fill each 2/3 full of the pea mixture from step 1 above. Place the custard cups on a shallow roasting pan filled with 1 inch of hot water and place in oven.

3. Bake 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

4. After the timbales have been baking about 25 minutes, let’s make the sauce. Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add and sauté the celery. Blend-in the flour, salts, pepper and milk. Simmer 6-8 minutes, stirring often until thickened.

5. Un-mold the pea timbales onto a warm serving platter and top with celery sauce and some chopped parsley.

Yields about 4-6 servings.

Here’s a scan of Mom’s original recipe!

If you missed the Sofia Vergara You Tube link above you have to watch it now. A guaranteed belly buster!