The Ironic Chef
New member
Description:
Manicotti to me is very much like a lasagna except the cheese is trapped inside of a large tube shaped pasta. I don't have much luck getting my filling into store bought pasta so I make my own.
Ingredients:
For the Pasta
1 1/2 cups of flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons of water
a dash of salt
For the Filling
12 oz container of Ricotta Cheese
1/2 pound of shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 box of frozen spinach, thawed and chopped to equal 1/2 cup.
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
Toppings, pizza spices, 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 4 cups of sauce, pepperoni.
Directions:
To make the dough, mix the flour, egg, salt and water together to make a crumbly dough mixture. Knead to bring it together for about 6 minutes. Coat lightly with olive oil and allow it to rest covered.
To make the filling, Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl. Blend well to make a paste.
After the pasta dough has rested roll out sheets by hand or with a pasta roller to a thickness you can just about see your hand through. With a roller, about the 5th or 6th setting for thickness Cut into 4" x6" rectangles. you should get 12 of them. Cook in boiling water for 4 minutes, drain and put into a bowl of cold water. Preheat the oven to 375*
In a casserole dish, put a tablespoon of olive oil and a ladle of sauce. Spread the oil and sauce over the entire bottom of the dish.
Take a dish towel and spread it on the counter. Place a piece of the pasta and lay it on top of the towel so that the long side is facing you. Place a heaping tablespoon of filling along the edge facing you and then roll the pasta around the filling jelly roll style using the towel to help. Place the filled manicotti in the casserole dish and repeat until all the pasta is filled.
Pour four cups of sauce over the filled manicotti, Sprinkle on some Italian spices as you would a pizza, add 1-1/2cups of mozzarella cheese. I add pepperoni at this point. Cover with aluminum foil and put in the oven. I bake for 45 minutes removing the foil the last 20 minutes of baking.