Manicotti Recipe

Manicotti Recipe

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My mom has the best homemade manicotti recipe in the whole world. She makes them only once in a blue moon, usually at Christmas,  because she led us to believe making the pasta manicotti shells is hard. I decided to try them this year and guess what?  EASY PEASY LEMON SQUEEZY.  And Mommy, the jig is up!!!

Manicotti

 (recipe was given to my mom by a friend about 40 years ago so I have no idea how it came to be. This is our adaptation)

Pasta Shells:
3 eggs
1 cup flour
pinch salt
1 cup water
Beat all ingredients together until smooth and free of lumps.The batter should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. 

Filling: Many of the ingredients are by taste.
15.5 oz container of ricotta cheese
3 eggs
grated parmesan or romano cheese (I used about a 1/3 of a cup)
mozzarella cut into chunks or shredded (I used a little over a  cup of shredded cheese)
fresh parsley, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
Salt/pepper to taste

Prepare a cookie sheet with a sheet of waxed paper. Set aside.

Heat your griddle or non stick pan until water bubbles on the surface when you sprinkle it. Lightly oil the griddle with olive oil. You don't need but a smidge.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of the batter onto the hot griddle and swirl with the spoon to create a circle.  Let the circle cook about a minute. Do not flip. When it looks dry on top just lift it up to cool onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Keep adding waxed paper on top and making more layers of the shells. At this point, once cool, you can wrap the whole shebang in saran and foil and freeze until you need them. Or you can fill them right away.

 Spoon some marinara sauce in the bottom of a large baking dish. Place a little less than a quarter cup of filling in the center of the shell and roll up. Try not to overstuff so you don't get too much oozing during baking. Lay the manicotti seam side down in the dish.

 You can stack them two layers high with a bit of sauce in between if you need to.

Drizzle with sauce and bake in a 375 oven until hot and gooey. Serve with extra sauce to top.


I wish I had a better after shot for you but to be quite honest, I forgot to take an after picture because we all ate them so quickly. This was what was left after we hogged out. 

Try it. I promise you that it will be easy and you'll look like you spent hours slaving away in the kitchen when you haven't.  Your friends will think you are amazing. You'll be the hit of the neighborhood. Grown men will weep at your feet.  The "m" in manicotti stands for mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Cheers!
Jenny