From Newsgroup: rec.food.cooking

JULIA'S MANICOTTI
An American version of stuffed shells

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This is Julia's recipe for stuffed manicotti shells. It may not be strictly authentic, but it is meant to be tasty, generous, and practical for a home kitchen.

Yield

Serves 4-6.

Ingredients

Sauce

* 2 lb crushed tomatoes, 1 kg
1 large can.
* 2 lb whole tomatoes, 1 kg
1 large can.
* 4 Tbsp tomato paste, 70 g
* 4-6 garlic cloves
* 2 cups chopped onions, 300 g
* 1/2 cup olive oil, 12 cl
* 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2.5 ml
* 2 bay leaves
* 1 Tbsp basil, 15 ml
* 1 Tbsp oregano, 15 ml
* 1/2 tsp tarragon, 2.5 ml
* 1/4 tsp thyme, 1 ml
* 1/4 tsp rosemary, 1 ml
* 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 ml
* Cayenne pepper, to taste
* 1 tsp parsley, 5 ml
Preferably fresh, but dry will do.
* Dash dry red wine

Filling

* 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 20 g
Fresh is much better.
* 1 lb ricotta, 500 g
* 2 eggs
* 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 130 g
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, 90 g
* 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese, 90 g
* 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2.5 ml
* 1 garlic clove, crushed

Manicotti

* 1 box manicotti
About 12 shells.

Method

1. Make the sauce: saute the onions in a large pot with the olive oil over medium heat.

2. Add the crushed garlic.

3. Cook until the onions start to brown.

4. Add the crushed tomatoes, whole tomatoes, and tomato paste, breaking up any large tomato chunks.

5. Add the seasonings and the dash of dry red wine.

6. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 minutes.

7. Make the filling: mix the filling ingredients in a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup / 60 g of the shredded mozzarella to sprinkle on top.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C.

9. Cook the manicotti until al dente, following the instructions on the box.

10. Drain the manicotti.

11. Stuff each shell with the filling mixture.

12. Cover the bottom of a baking pan with 1/2 inch / 1 cm of sauce.

13. Arrange the stuffed shells on top of the sauce.

14. Cover the shells with more sauce.

15. Sprinkle with the reserved mozzarella.

16. Bake at 350 F / 175 C for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is nicely browned and the sauce is bubbling.

Notes

Although the recipe prefers true manicotti, regular pasta shells are easier to stuff and can be substituted.

Another option is to cut each manicotti shell down one side and rewrap it around the stuffing.

This freezes well uncooked. Cover with plastic wrap and foil.

To defrost, place in a 200 F / 95 C oven for an hour, or thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

The cheese mixture can be modified to suit your tastes.

Cottage cheese can be substituted for the ricotta.

The sauce is a heavily seasoned tomato sauce with onions, garlic, basil, oregano, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, parsley, black pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and a dash of dry red wine. It should be thick enough to coat and bake around the filled pasta.

The filling is rich and cheese-forward: ricotta, eggs, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, parsley, black pepper, and garlic.

The manicotti should be cooked only to al dente before stuffing, because the shells bake again under sauce.

Verified Recipe Note: The recipe says to reserve 1/2 cup / 60 g of the shredded mozzarella for the top. Since the ingredient list gives 1 cup total mozzarella, the remaining mozzarella goes into the filling.

Verified Recipe Note: The subtitle calls this “an American version of stuffed shells,” while the method prefers true manicotti and allows regular pasta shells as an easier substitute. Both ideas are preserved here.

Verified Recipe Note: The recipe gives a freeze-ahead method for the uncooked assembled dish. When baking from chilled or partially frozen, make sure the center is hot and the sauce is bubbling before serving.

Rating

* Difficulty: Moderate
* Time: 1 hour preparation, 20 minutes baking
* Precision: Approximate measurement OK

Contributor

Julia Riseman
Reed College
Portland, Oregon, USA
tektronix!reed!julia

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Origin Note

This recipe comes from the USENET Cookbook project, a moderated electronic recipe collection distributed through early Internet newsgroups. The original was written in the project’s structured recipe markup, where MANICOTTI-1 was the recipe key and M marked it as a main dish.

The preserved entry lists the recipe as last modified on 25 Jan 1987 and posted to mod.recipes on 20 Mar 1987. It was contributed by Julia Riseman of Reed College in Portland, Oregon.

This is an Italian-American home-baked pasta dish: manicotti shells stuffed with ricotta, eggs, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, parsley, garlic, and pepper, then baked under a tomato-herb sauce until bubbling and browned.

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From: [julia@reed.uucp](mailto:julia@reed.uucp) (Julia Riseman)
Newsgroups: mod.recipes
Subject: RECIPE: Julia's manicotti
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Date: 20 Mar 87 05:35:20 GMT
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