Cheese Manicotti
https://easyhomemaderecipes.caThis recipe for homemade Cheese Manicotti will not disappoint you or your loved ones. Made with fresh pasta, ricotta, eggs and fresh tomato sauce, this recipes for cannelloni will be a winner any night of the week or the weekend.
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 750 ml tomato puree
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp sugar optional, see note*
- salt and pepper
- 3 fresh basil leaves
Cheese Filling
- 700 g Ricotta
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- ½ tsp salt
- pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
Pasta
- 350 g fresh lasagna sheets about 5 to 6 large sheets, cut in half
Other
- 2 tbsp olive oil for bottom of baking dish
Instructions
Sauce
- In a medium saucepan heat oil and sauté garlic until fragrent.
- Add the tomato puree and bring to a boil. Add seasoning and basil leaves.
- Lower the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste the sauce, if it is tart add sugar as an option to remove the acidity. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Prepare your baking dish by greasing it with olive oil. Add half a cup of water and some of the sauce at a ratio of 3:1 water to sauce. Reserve the rest of the sauce to pour over the manicotti at the end.
Cheese Filling
- Combine all ingredients for cheese filling in a bowl and mix well.
Lasagna Sheets and Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cut the lasagna sheet in half on the long side.
- Using a spoon, place cheese filling on the lasagna sheet close to the edge. Fold over and roll the lasagna sheet trying to stop any filling from escaping as you roll.
- Place the cannelloni in the baking dish on top of the sauce, water, oil combo with the slit side down. Repeat until you have either run out of lasagna sheets or cheese filling.
- Pour the reserved tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Optional: top with mozzarella or cheese.
- Ensure that there is sufficient sauce/liquid to cook the cannelloni. The cannelloni should almost be submerged in the sauce. Without sufficient liquid they will dry out.
- Cover with foil and place in over for 40 minutes.
- Check at 30 minutes and add more water if necessary to avoid cannelloni from sticking to bottom of pan and burning.
- You will know that they are done when the liquid in the dish is boiling rapidly.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Sometimes tomato sauces are very acidic even after the cooking process. Taste your sauce 20 minutes into the cooking process and if it is bitter then you will want to add 1 tsp of white sugar to your sauce and continue to simmer. This will minimize the acidity and bitterness of the sauce.
Nutrition
Serving: 3ManicottiCalories: 850kcalCarbohydrates: 78gProtein: 40gFat: 44gSaturated Fat: 19gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 203mgSodium: 772mgPotassium: 1299mgFiber: 4gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 2060IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 586mgIron: 8mg
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