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It’s one of my favorite comfort foods to make for a cold winter night. My recipe is for a more Italian-American style manicotti made with tubular pasta shells stuffed with ricotta and served in a tomato sauce. If you grew up in Northern New Jersey like me, you may hear it sometimes referred to as “manigot” (yes, like the Sopranos).
I use a simple cheese filling made with a combination of three cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan, though you can add a variety of meats or greens to the filling. “Manicotti” translates in Italian to “sleeves”. It’s actually quite easy to make at home – follow my tips below to easily stuff the pasta using a piping bag (or makeshift piping bag).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the manicotti tubes and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and run under cool water, then toss in olive oil and set aside.
Heat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). In a large bowl mix together the ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley and basil. Season the cheese mixture with salt and pepper.
Spread 1 cup of simple marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9” x 13” (22.8cm x 33cm) baking dish.
Either use a long spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a large top to pipe the filling into the shells. Place each shell into the baking dish in an even single layer.
Top with the remaining sauce followed by the rest of the mozzarella.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake until the cheese is melted and the pasta is tender, about 30 minutes. Bake uncovered until the cheese is browned in spots, about an additional 10 minutes.
Let cool slightly and serve.
I recommend using a long narrow spoon to stuff the manicotti to prevent breaks. If you can, use a pastry bag fitted with a large tip to easily pipe the filling. A gallon resealable plastic bag with a small portion of the edge cut off also works well if you don’t have a piping bag.
If you can’t find manicotti tubes, I recommend using sheets of lasagna. If you’re intimidated by stuffing the tubes, using par-boiled lasagna noodles rolled up makes for a great easy swap. Simply spoon the cheese filling on the short edge of the pasta and roll it up, placing it in the pan with the seam-side down. Cook the manicotti as directed below.
About 3 tablespoons to ¼ cup of cheese filling is the perfect amount.
The manicotti can be stuffed, then arranged in disposable or freezer safe trays. Cover in sauce then seal and refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve. If cooking the dish frozen – directly from the freezer rather than thawed, simply add about 20 minutes to the cooking time.
Manicotti is often filled with a combination of ground beef, veal or Italian sausage (mild or hot as long as it has Italian seasoning). Sauté ½ medium yellow onion in olive oil then brown ½ pound of meat and stir together with 2 cups of ricotta. Fill as directed below. I like pairing rich, meat stuffed manicotti with a vodka or blush sauce instead of tomato sauce.
I love sautéing leafy greens like spinach (a popular variation) and adding it to the ricotta filling. Greens like kale or arugula can also be used. Plan on sautéing about 6 ounces of greens.
Diced sautéed mushrooms and chopped garlic mixed into the ricotta filling mixture makes for a great twist.
If you enjoy this homemade manicotti recipe, I recommend checking out these:
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Love this recipe
So happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing Sally!
I stuffed mine with a thick meat,spaghetti sauce mixed with mozzarella cheese. Then poured a small amount of no meat sauce over the top. It was excellent.
YUM! Love a meat sauce!! Sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!