Skip to main content
Main

Timballe of Rice

A baked rice dish with almonds, sugar, butter, and eggs, encased in pastry.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Rice and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,456 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Timballe of Rice

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Prepare the rice

  1. Wash and scald the rice for five minutes.

  2. Strain and place it in a stewpan.

  3. Add the boiling cream, finely pounded Jordan and bitter almonds.

  4. Strain through a coarse cloth into the rice.

  5. Stir in the sifted sugar and fresh butter.

  6. Simmer over low heat until tender.

Make the timbale

  1. Add the ratafia cakes, two whole eggs, and four egg yolks to the mixture.

  2. Roll out pastry to line a mold.

  3. Beat the egg whites to a solid froth.

  4. Gently mix the froth into the rice mixture.

  5. Pour the mixture into the mold.

Bake

  1. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 1.5 hours, or bake in a raised crust.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Rice + almondtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,456 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  4. Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,245 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Carolina rice
Forms the bulk of the timbale and sets into a tender, sliceable body when cooked.
Cream
Adds richness and moisture, giving the rice a smooth, tender texture.
Jordan almonds
Provide nutty flavour and fat that enrich the filling.
Eggs
Bind the mixture and help it set firm during baking.
Egg whites
Whipped to a froth, they lighten the mixture and help it rise and hold air.
Butter
Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture.

The step that matters

Gently mix the froth into the rice mixture. Whipped egg whites trap air that gives lift. Folding gently keeps that air in; vigorous stirring deflates the froth and leaves a denser timbale.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Rice FrittersRice Fritters84 recipesAlmond SoupAlmond Soup60 recipesSteamed RiceSteamed Rice48 recipesRice Griddle CakesRice Griddle Cakes28 recipes