Manicotti
Unleash your inner Italian Grandmother and make this!
Who does not LOVE Manicotti. I kinda think a lot of us shy away from making manicotti because we believe its complicated to make or takes too long or perhaps we just don’t think about making it. Everyone loves Manicotti! Here is a very simple recipe for this delicious dish. Manicotti is a perfect everyday dish or Holiday dish to have either as a main course or even a starter. We use simple ingredients all of which are available in every supermarket. Just remember the trick here is, it is best to let the ricotta drain for 24 hours, you’ll see my note below. If I am having manicotti for a non Holiday dinner I serve it with a simple salad.
You will need:
- 32 ounce container of Ricotta, liquid drained
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup grated romano cheese
- 1/2 cup fine chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 lb shredded mozzarella cheese (or more if you like)
- 1 tsp salt (optional)
- 28 ounces of tomato sauce (I use my Mama Mancini slow cooked sauce)
- 12-15 Manicotti crepes, pasta squares or manicotti pasta shells, you can freeze any extra
- Extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Place the ricotta in a strainer over a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow this to sit in the fridge for 24 hours to drain the liquid from the cheese.
- In a large bowl beat the eggs then mix the drained ricotta, 1/2 cup of the romano cheese, parsley, mozzarella and salt all together. Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees.
- I suggest making crepes from scratch they really are so simple to do but you can easily find ready made crepes, pasta squares and of course manicotti pasta shells in your local market.
- If using a shell follow the cooking instruction to prepare them for the filling.
- In a 9×13 in baking dish spread 2 cups of the sauce.
- Using a spoon fill your crepes or shells and then place them into the pan. I over fill mine, because I love them that way.
- Top the manicotti with the balance of the sauce.
- Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes, uncover, top with 1/2 cup of romano cheese and bake for another 15 minutes. I do not put mozzarella cheese on top of the manicotti because it makes it very difficult to remove them and serve. If you do like extra mozzarella I would add to the filling.
- Once bubbling and done remove and let sit for a couple minutes. I put a light drizzle of extra Virginia olive oil on mine.
TIP-you could use two packs of my Mama Mancini meatballs and sauce, remove the meatballs and serve separately in a bowl and use the sauce for the manicotti!
– Daniel Mancini
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