This week I opted for a dish that might be something I could have in my "everyday" repertoire to make for dinner parties, potlucks, etc, and this is definitely that dish. Yummers.
Manicotti is by far the most expensive dish I've made so far - you need several cups of several kinds of cheeses so it adds up fast - but it easily made 6 or 8 servings so your money goes pretty far. It's not fancy or unique or especially creative, but it is easy and delicious. And I was extremely thankful that it doesn't involve actually having to stuff any pasta.
I really recommend this one for a big family dinner or potluck dish. Or if you just love manicotti so much that you want to eat nothing else for 8 meals in a row.
BAKED MANICOTTI
Source: America's Test Kitchen
Sauce: 2 x 28-oz. cans diced tomatoes - 2 T. extra-virgin olive oil - 3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed - 1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes (optional) - Table salt - 2 T. chopped fresh basil
Cheese Filling and Pasta: 3 c. part-skim ricotta cheese - 4 oz. grated Parmesan (about 2 cups) - 8 oz. shredded mozzarella (about 2 cups) - 2 large eggs - 3/4 tsp. table salt - 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper - 2 T. chopped fresh parsley leaves - 2 T. chopped fresh basil - 16 no-boil lasagna noodles
1. Pulse 1 can tomatoes with their juice in food processor until coarsely chopped, 3 or 4 pulses. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining can of tomatoes.
2. Heat oil, garlic and pepper flakes (if using) in large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and 1/2 tsp. salt and simmer until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil; adjust seasoning with salt.
3. For the cheese filling, combine ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, mozzarella, eggs, salt, pepper and herbs in medium bowl. Set aside.
4. To assemble, pour 1 inch boiling water into 13x9 inch broilersafe baking dish, then add noodles one at a time. Let noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating noodles with the tipe of sharp knife to prevent sticking. Remove noodles from water and place in single layer on clean kitchen towels; discard water and dry baking dish.
5. Spread bottom of baking dish evenly with 1 1/2 cups sauce. Spread 1/4 cup cheese mixture evenly onto bottom three-quarters of each noodle, leaving top quarter of noodle exposed. Roll into tube shape and arrange in baking dish seam side down. Top evenly with remaining sauce, making certain that pasta is completely covered.
6. Cover manicotti with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees until bubbling, about 40 minutes, then remove foil. Remove baking dish, adjust oven rack to uppermost position (about 6 inches from element) and heat broiler. Sprinkle manicotti evenly with remaining 1 cup Parmesan. Broil until cheese is spotty brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Cool 15 minutes, then serve.
What Brian says:
Well this wasn't a dish that cries out "unique" but it certainly was good. For as much cheese as there was it was a pretty light recipe. What's nice is that the main part of the dish (the filling) wasn't being overpowered by the sauce. Although it could have used more garlic, the flavors melded pretty well. Overall it came out very nice. As your basic manicotti there's probably a number of ways to spice it up, but for now it's worth trying as is.
Brian's rating: ***
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