Manicotti Recipe

This is a classic holiday dish in my home. It is a recipe that holds near and dear to my heart and a tradition that my dad especially looks forward to- he loves manicotti!

The heaviness of this dish pairs so well with a fresh bib lettuce salad in a vinaigrette.

To spread out the prep time, you can make this filling a day ahead. I use my homemade tomato sauce for this recipe that is linked here… … or you can use your favorite store-bought sauce, if you must.

Let me know in the comments in you make this for your holiday festivities!

Manicotti

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese or one 15-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese

• 1 pound fresh spinach, tough stems removed, or a 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed

• 4 cups Marinara Sauce

• 12 Manicotti shells

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1½ cups cubed (1/4 inches) fresh mozzarella (about 6 ounces)

• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• ½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, preferably freshly ground

• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, grated (about 1 ¼ cups; optional)

  Directions

  1. Spoon the ricotta into a large, fine-mesh sieve or a colander lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth or a basket-type coffee filter. Set the sieve over a bowl and cover the ricotta well with plastic wrap. Let the ricotta drain in the refrigerator at least overnight, or up to 24 hours. Discard the liquid in the bottom of the bowl.

  2. Make the tomato sauce.

  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

  4. If using fresh spinach, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat, and season generously with salt. Fill a medium bowl with ice water and season with salt. Boil the spinach until tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, (keep the water in the pot boiling), and immediately plunge the spinach into the ice water. Drain and squeeze the excess water from the spinach, and finely chop. Alternatively, if using thawed spinach, simply squeeze, and finely chop. Set aside.

  5. In the same large pot of boiling water, cook the manicotti shells according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and pat dry.

  6. Whisk the eggs and salt together in a large bowl until foamy. Add the drained ricotta, the mozzarella cubes, ½ cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano, the parsley, pepper and nutmeg. Stir well until blended.

  7. Coat the bottom of each of two 13 x 9-inch baking pans (or any two pans into which the manicotti will fit comfortably) with 1 cup of the sauce. Working with one pasta square at a time, spoon 3 full tablespoons of the ricotta filling about 1 inch from the edge closest to you. Roll loosely into a cylinder, smoothing out the filling along the length of the tube as you roll.

  8. Arrange the manicotti, seam side down and side-by-side, over the sauce in the baking pans. Spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti and sprinkle them with the remaining ½ cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Cover the baking dishes loosely with aluminum foil and poke the foil several times with a fork.

  9. Bake 20 minutes. Uncover the dishes, scatter the grated mozzarella, if using, over the top of the manicotti and bake until the edges are bubbling and the cheese topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes.