Armando Percuoco found his passion for cooking in the family restaurant in Naples at 14. He arrived in Australia in 1972, working with his father at Arrivederci in East Sydney before going on to open Pulcinella in Kings Cross. He has been the chef-patron of Paddington's Buon Ricordo since 1987, before handing the head-chef reins to David Wright in 2018.
This timballo is a dish he recalls with fondness from his childhood. "Traditionally the timballo was a large pie, encased in pastry made with sugna, or pork drippings, topped with a meat ragù," he says. "We still do this occasionally for special events, but normally we serve it in individual portions and, to lighten and modernise the dish, we serve it without the pastry and with a Neapolitan sauce."