So, you thought I’d run out of ideas when I ended this series a couple of years ago, but not so fast. I still have a few surprises and offerings up my culinary sleeve. So I want to continue my cooking and recipe series of Classic Italian dishes with another pasta offering that I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid, manicotti !!
There is very little if any real documented history on where or how this form of pasta came about. The term itself refers to the type of pasta used in the dish (similar to our calling pasta with a marinara sauce spaghetti). In Italy, where its origins probably lie, this type of pasta is known as cannelloni or simply a flat, smooth pasta sheet rolled around a tube.
Always found in dried form, they became vessels in which to stuff a variety of minced meats and cheeses, then baked in some form of tomato sauce. Once again for whatever reason, Italian-Americans adapted the same vessel but called it manicotti (or manicott if you’re one of the Sparanos) which simply means ‘little sleeve’. The only real difference is manicotti usually have horizontal ridges to better hold the cheese and sauce while baking.
There’s also a theory that says the real origin comes from a rolled crepe similar to the Italian pasta called crespelle. These crepes are generally filled with a minced meat, a bechamel sauce, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta cheeses, which is strikingly similar to how the recipe I present below is made. It remains a favorite way to stuff these pastas in the Campania region of Italy where the first cannelloni were probably made. Regardless manicotti is always a dried pasta and its stuffing can be whatever the cook has available to him or her to stuff it with.
All that being said (and a bit confusing), classic manicotti remains one of my very favorite pasta dishes. I like to think of it as an inverted form of lasagna with that same creamy, cheesy and delicious delight in every bite. So enough culinary history, let’s make some manicotti !!
Manicotti
Course. Lunch or Dinner.
Cuisine. Italian-American
Makes. 5 to 6 servings, typically 14 tubes per box
Takes. 60 minutes prep, 30 minutes baking time
Ingredients
1 – pound finely minced Italian sausage (optional)
1 – box manicotti pasta, usually 14 tubes per box
1 – large shallot, finely chopped
3-4 – garlic cloves finely chopped
2 – cups chopped spinach leaves
10 – fresh basil leaves julienned
25 – ounces ricotta cheese
10 – ounces grated fresh mozzarella cheese (reserved)
5 – ounces grated Parmesano Reggiano (reserved)
8 – ounce package Boursin garlic and fine herb cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups marinara sauce (either homemade, which I prefer, or your favorite jarred version)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350*F (or 175*C)
Begin by prepping all your ingredients. Be sure to take your time chopping all of various items either in fine or minced form. It makes piping into the shells easier and produces a creamier texture in the final result.
Cook the pasta shells per the recommended directions. I do mine for about 5 minutes, you want them to be pliable but still have some rigidity to them. The little bit of extra cook time that may be required will happen during the final bake.
Start the stuffing cook with browning the sausage in the olive oil. If you prefer a meatless stuffing by all means leave this part out. Once finished to your liking, remove the sausage from the pan and let drain. Add the shallot to the pan and sweat down until translucent, just a couple of minutes. To that add the spinach and combine with the shallot until both are well reduced. Finally add the garlic and toss into the mixture until fragrant, maybe a minute or so. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down.
Next in a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 3/4 of the Parmesan, 3/4 of the mozzarella and the Boursin cheeses until smooth and creamy. Add in the basil, oregano, the spinach mixture, the sausage and thoroughly combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
The next step goes a bit smoother with a second helping hand. Take the mixture and place it into a piping bag with a smooth or serrated tip. Have your helper hold each shell while piping the mixture into one end, turn it around and finish piping the other. Repeat with all of your shells.
In a regular lasagna pan, spread about half the marinara sauce evenly along the bottom. Lay the stuffed manicotti in a row then cover them with the remaining marinara. Sprinkle the top with the reserved mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Finally add some chopped parsley for a finishing pop of color.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes or until everything is heated through and bubbly. Allow to sit on your counter for about 15-20 minutes to allow the molten result to cool before serving.
Give one of my favorite pasta dishes a try. Although it takes some work and a few steps, the result is sheer culinary perfection. After all, this dish is Tony Sparano approved!! Mangia !! Trout signing out !!
There is very little if any real documented history on where or how this form of pasta came about. The term itself refers to the type of pasta used in the dish (similar to our calling pasta with a marinara sauce spaghetti). In Italy, where its origins probably lie, this type of pasta is known as cannelloni or simply a flat, smooth pasta sheet rolled around a tube.
Always found in dried form, they became vessels in which to stuff a variety of minced meats and cheeses, then baked in some form of tomato sauce. Once again for whatever reason, Italian-Americans adapted the same vessel but called it manicotti (or manicott if you’re one of the Sparanos) which simply means ‘little sleeve’. The only real difference is manicotti usually have horizontal ridges to better hold the cheese and sauce while baking.
There’s also a theory that says the real origin comes from a rolled crepe similar to the Italian pasta called crespelle. These crepes are generally filled with a minced meat, a bechamel sauce, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan and ricotta cheeses, which is strikingly similar to how the recipe I present below is made. It remains a favorite way to stuff these pastas in the Campania region of Italy where the first cannelloni were probably made. Regardless manicotti is always a dried pasta and its stuffing can be whatever the cook has available to him or her to stuff it with.
All that being said (and a bit confusing), classic manicotti remains one of my very favorite pasta dishes. I like to think of it as an inverted form of lasagna with that same creamy, cheesy and delicious delight in every bite. So enough culinary history, let’s make some manicotti !!
Manicotti
Course. Lunch or Dinner.
Cuisine. Italian-American
Makes. 5 to 6 servings, typically 14 tubes per box
Takes. 60 minutes prep, 30 minutes baking time
Ingredients
1 – pound finely minced Italian sausage (optional)
1 – box manicotti pasta, usually 14 tubes per box
1 – large shallot, finely chopped
3-4 – garlic cloves finely chopped
2 – cups chopped spinach leaves
10 – fresh basil leaves julienned
25 – ounces ricotta cheese
10 – ounces grated fresh mozzarella cheese (reserved)
5 – ounces grated Parmesano Reggiano (reserved)
8 – ounce package Boursin garlic and fine herb cheese
1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups marinara sauce (either homemade, which I prefer, or your favorite jarred version)
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350*F (or 175*C)
Begin by prepping all your ingredients. Be sure to take your time chopping all of various items either in fine or minced form. It makes piping into the shells easier and produces a creamier texture in the final result.
Cook the pasta shells per the recommended directions. I do mine for about 5 minutes, you want them to be pliable but still have some rigidity to them. The little bit of extra cook time that may be required will happen during the final bake.
Start the stuffing cook with browning the sausage in the olive oil. If you prefer a meatless stuffing by all means leave this part out. Once finished to your liking, remove the sausage from the pan and let drain. Add the shallot to the pan and sweat down until translucent, just a couple of minutes. To that add the spinach and combine with the shallot until both are well reduced. Finally add the garlic and toss into the mixture until fragrant, maybe a minute or so. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool down.
Next in a large bowl, combine the ricotta, 3/4 of the Parmesan, 3/4 of the mozzarella and the Boursin cheeses until smooth and creamy. Add in the basil, oregano, the spinach mixture, the sausage and thoroughly combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
The next step goes a bit smoother with a second helping hand. Take the mixture and place it into a piping bag with a smooth or serrated tip. Have your helper hold each shell while piping the mixture into one end, turn it around and finish piping the other. Repeat with all of your shells.
In a regular lasagna pan, spread about half the marinara sauce evenly along the bottom. Lay the stuffed manicotti in a row then cover them with the remaining marinara. Sprinkle the top with the reserved mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Finally add some chopped parsley for a finishing pop of color.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes or until everything is heated through and bubbly. Allow to sit on your counter for about 15-20 minutes to allow the molten result to cool before serving.
Give one of my favorite pasta dishes a try. Although it takes some work and a few steps, the result is sheer culinary perfection. After all, this dish is Tony Sparano approved!! Mangia !! Trout signing out !!
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