Best Momma Corteses Manicotti Recipes

GRANDMA'S KITCHEN OLD-WORLD MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
• Cook pasta according to package directions(be sure to not over cook, they need to be a little chewey for easier stuffing). Carefully remove each shell and rinse with cool water. Let pasta dry on paper towels. Don't get too upset if a couple break, its bound to happen :).
• For the filling, in a large ziplock bag (seriously!), put in 3 cups mozzarella with the ricotta and fresh basil. Seal the bag tightly. Smush the bag around with your hands until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed (it's a nice stress reliever too!).
• Snip off the bottom corner of the ziplock bag (the point is to have the hole a tad smaller than the manicotti opening, where you can just barely slip it into the shell). Use this method to squeeze the cheese mixture into each manicotti.
• See, that wasn't so bad! ;).
• Spoon 2 cups spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange stuffed pasta over sauce. Pour remaining spaghetti sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.
• Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan; bake for 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Make sauce:
• Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and sauté, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, water, sugar, and salt and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in basil and remove from heat.
• Make crêpes:
• Break up eggs with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl and stir in water until combined (don't beat). Sift in flour and salt, then stir batter until just combined. Force through a medium-mesh sieve into another bowl.
• Lightly brush an 8-inch nonstick skillet with melted butter and heat over moderate heat until hot. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into skillet, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom, then pour excess batter back into bowl. (If batter sets before skillet is coated, reduce heat slightly for next crêpe.) Cook until underside is just set and lightly browned, about 30 seconds, then invert crêpe onto a clean kitchen towel to cool completely. Make at least 11 more crêpes in same manner, brushing skillet with butter as needed and stacking crêpes in 3 piles.
• Make filling and assemble manicotti:
• Stir together ricotta, eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, parsley, salt, and pepper.
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
• Cut mozzarella lengthwise into 1/4-inch-thick sticks.
• Spread 2 cups sauce in larger baking dish and 1 cup in smaller one. Arrange 1 crêpe, browned side up, on a work surface, then spread about 1/4 cup filling in a line across center and top with a mozzarella strip. Fold in sides to enclose filling, leaving ends open, and transfer, seam side down, to either baking dish. Fill 11 more crêpes in same manner, arranging snugly in 1 layer in both dishes (8 in larger dish and 4 in smaller). Spread 1 cup sauce over manicotti in larger dish and 1/2 cup in smaller dish. Tightly cover dishes with foil and bake until sauce is bubbling and filling is hot, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

HOMEMADE CREPE-STYLE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• For the sauce: Combine the canned tomatoes in a large bowl, reserving the cans. Crush the tomatoes with your hands. Put the olive oil and garlic in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the garlic is translucent and fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until warm, about 30 seconds, then add the tomatoes. Fill each reserved can halfway with water, swish to collect any remaining tomato juice and add to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 35 minutes. Stir in the whole basil sprigs, season with salt and black pepper and remove from the heat. You should have about 6 cups of sauce.
• For the crepes: Puree the eggs, flour, milk, water and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender until smooth. Let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Heat an 8-inch stainless steel skillet over medium-low heat (see Cook's Note). Pour 1/4 cup of the batter off center into the pan with a ladle or measuring cup, then swirl to coat the bottom. Cook until the crepe looks dry and pulls away from the sides of the pan, 1 to 2 minutes per side. The crepes should not take on any color. (It usually takes one or two tries to get it right so adjust the heat as needed.) Transfer the crepe to a plate. Continue cooking the crepes with the remaining batter, stacking them on the plate when they are done. You should have about 16 good crepes. At this point the crepes can be wrapped tightly and stored on the plate in the refrigerator up to 1 day.
• For the filling: Combine the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmigiano, Pecorino, parsley, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper.
• To assemble, preheat the oven to 375F. Cover the bottom of each of two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes with 1 1/2 cups sauce (it is fine to also add the basil sprigs to the bottom of the dish if you like). Divide the filling among the crepes (about 1/4 cup each) and spread it in a line down the center of each crepe. Roll the crepes into cylinders (leaving the ends open) and fit them snugly in the baking dishes, seam-side down. Spoon 1 cup of the sauce in a line down the center of each baking dish (it will only partially cover the crepes). The manicotti can be assembled up to this point, covered tightly and refrigerated overnight; remove the covering before baking.
• Cover the baking dishes with lids or aluminum foil and bake until the filling is heated through and the sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the cover, sprinkle with some Parmigiano and continue to bake until the cheese is melted and the edges are light brown, 5 to 10 minutes more. Heat the remaining sauce in a small saucepan or the microwave and serve alongside the manicotti.

GRANDMA NANCY'S MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl combine the ricotta, 1 cup of the grated cheese, eggs, and pepper.
• Fill each crepe with approximately 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture centering it in a straight line down the middle. Top with the shredded mozzarella. Take one end of the crepe and fold over the cheese filling. Then take the other end and pulling slightly, fold over in a wrapping motion overlapping the stuffed portion of the crepe. Repeat until all 12 crepes are filled.
• Spread one cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray. Place the filled manicotti in the pan, seam down, side-by-side. Do not overlap, and do not layer them. Spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti. Be sure to cover all the pasta. Sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes or until the sauce is hot and bubbling.
• Remove from the oven and let stand for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before serving. This will give the manicotti time to settle which will make for easy serving. The manicotti will fall apart if served immediately.
• In a pan heat the olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes on medium heat. Do not let garlic burn. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, and pepper. Let tomato mixture cook for approximately 30 minutes.