The shape of simple elegance

Timbales are round, sometimes individual, and can come to a French table as an appetizer, side dish, or dessert. The mold used to make a timbale (pronounced tihm-BAHL) gives the dish its name. Timbales look elaborate enough so you might think they're labor-intensive. They're just small and charming and far from difficult.

The word timbale might refer to a baked decorated pastry, called croustade, garnished with pieces of meat, fish, or vegetables in a creamy white sauce, like the traditional French vol-au-vent. Or a timbale might be sweet, made from a thin almond cookie shaped like a tulip, and filled with fresh whipped cream.

Some are saucy, others are fashioned from a vegetable puree bound with an egg-and-cream custard. For individual timbales, use small molds such as custard cups; the best ones for this dish are deeper than they are wide. Custardy timbales are cooked in a water bath, then turned out for serving.

You can also take long, thin strips of lightly sauteed vegetables - eggplant, potato, or zucchini - and line them into small molds. I still crave a scrumptious timbale I ate years ago. The filling offered layers of ricotta cheese, slow-roasted tomatoes, eggplant, and caramelized sweet onions. Cutting the timbale to reveal the different layers was as much fun as eating it.

This version is made with thinly sliced potatoes, red apple, and camembert cheese, lightly seasoned with allspice and oregano. Press the layers as you build the timbales and brush with melted butter as you go. When the timbales are cooked, leave them to rest for a few minutes, then unmold them. That final step seems to make cooks nervous. But the little molded timbales will slip out easily.

Slide them beside slices of a handsome roast chicken or thick broiled chops for a restaurant-quality meal. - BÉATRICE PELTRE