Manicotti Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 Vidalia onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 5-6 garlic cloves
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp white granulated sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• salt (to taste)
• 8 oz manicotti pasta shells
• 20 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg (whisked)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp minced fresh basil
• 1 tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (for topping)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (for topping)

Instructions

1. 1

   --- Sauce: ---

2. 2

   Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil. Saute diced onions, carrots, and garlic first until softened. Add canned tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, sugar, and salt.

3. 3

   Stir well, cover with a lid but leave a crack for steam to escape. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add basil, stir, and cook for another 20 minutes or so.

4. 4

   Take out and discard bay leaves and blend sauce in the blender until smooth. (Make sure to open the little tab so the steam can escape while blending.)

5. 5

   NOTE: you may have about a cup of sauce leftover. Store it in a glass container with a lid, in the refrigerator.

6. 6

   --- Manicotti Pasta Shells: ---

7. 7

   Bring a pot of water to boil and salt it. Cook pasta in salted boiling water for 6 minutes, drain off water, and set pasta shells aside on a clean cutting board to cool down.

8. 8

   --- Manicotti Filling: ---

9. 9

   Spread about a cup and a half of marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.

10. 10

    Combine all ingredients for the stuffing in a mixing bowl and mix until evenly incorporated.

11. 11

    Transfer prepared stuffing into a large piping bag (I use 16 oz piping bag.) Tie the opening of the bag with a produce rubber band and cut off the tip when ready to stuff pasta tubes.

12. 12

    Hold manicotti shell in one hand and squeeze the stuffing into it from the piping bag, filling it almost full. Don’t overfill though or a lot of it will come out while baking.

13. 13

    Nestle stuffed manicotti in the sauce. Repeat with all the manicotti pasta shells.

14. 14

    Spread more marinara sauce over the top of all the filled manicotti.

15. 15

    Spread mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over the top.

16. 16

    --- Baking Manicotti: ---

17. 17

    Preheat the oven to 350° and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

18. 18

    Spray one side of foil with non-stick cooking spray, the side that will be facing down, so that the cheese doesn’t stick to the foil. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil.

19. 19

    Bake for about 30 minutes. Take off the foil and bake another 10 minutes.