Рецепт Italian Tubular Feasting.
If you think about it,
many food items come in a tubular form; examples are hotdogs, bratwurst,
taquitos, burritos and rolled crepes. In
Italian cuisine, examples would be cannoli (a pastry filled with casada cream)
and many pastas such as ziti, penne and manicotti. I guess if you were a Freudian psychologist,
you could come up with some type of fantastical sexual reasoning behind the use
of this form, but I'm not even going there.
My main focus is Manicotti;
a large tubular form of pasta, usually stuffed with cheeses, meats, veggies or
a combination; covered in sauce and cheese, baked in the oven till tender. Hungry yet?
Ricotta, Mozzarella, Provolone & Romano CheesesHomemade Meat Sauce
Looking into the history of this
Italian-American dish, there is a bit of controversy to its origins. In the 1770s, Cannelloni is a Mediterranean
dish originating in Catalonia, a region in Spain, and served on Boxing Day
(December 26th…hey, that’s my birthday!). However, Italian origins are claimed by
Naples and Sicily with the translation being “large reed” in which pasta
squares are filled with cheese/spinach mixture or chopped meats, rolled into
cylinder shapes, baked in a rich tomato sauce with a Béchamel sauce topping. The term Manicotti is a typical 20th
century Italian-American word; the pasta sheets replaced with a tube form
extruded by a pasta machine, or purchased in a dry form from the local shop or
supermarket. The filling and baking are
essentially the same with a minor change here or there.
Manicotti can be a bit
difficult to make as you have to be careful to not split the pasta when
stuffing it. Using freshly made pasta
sheets and rolling them after filling takes the stress out this process. Package directions say to cook until tender,
but I pull them out of the boiling water when they are al dente. That way they
are still a little firm, but flexible enough to stuff without breaking open;
they'll become tender after the baking process is done. In the overall scheme, if they break, who
cares, they’ll still taste amazingly delicious!
It was suggested to me
that I attempt baking the manicotti as I do my lasagna, by leaving the pasta
uncooked. Stuffing the tubes is just as
difficult as with al dente pasta, there is still a possibility of breakage if
the pasta is held too tightly. I tried
two methods in the stuffing process as well, first filling a plastic bag with
the cheese mixture. Basically this is
the same idea as filling a pastry bag with icing and piping it onto cakes or
cupcakes; or filling a cannoli shell with a creamy, sweet ricotta cheese
mixture. The cheese mixture is very
thick and took a long time to squeeze down the tube; it was easier to break the
pasta too. I then placed one end of the
tube into the bowl of cheese, to act as an anchor; held the tube lightly while
filling it little by little with a teaspoon.
This process took a lot longer for filling, but no breakage!
Baked Manicotti
Ingredients:
2 (8 oz.) packages dried
manicotti (depending on the brand, there will be 12-14 pieces) 3 lbs. ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella
cheese, divided in half
2 cup shredded provolone
cheese
2 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup mixture of minced
fresh herbs (oregano, parsley, basil and thyme)
8 cups homemade meat sauce
Note: you can add 1 cup of
crumbled, cooked meat such as Italian sausage, or chopped raw spinach to the
mixture.
Preparation:
Bring a large pot of
salted water to boil on high heat; cook manicotti for 10 minutes, or until al
dente. Strain manicotti out and place in large bowl of cold water to stop
cooking process and keep them from sticking together. (Skip this step if using the
dried manicotti as is.)
While waiting for water to
boil and pasta to cook, prepare the filling by place all remaining ingredients,
except one cup of shredded mozzarella (one cup for each 4-quart pan) and the
meat sauce, into a large bowl.
Preheat oven to 350F;
spray a 4 quart baking dish with nonstick baking spray; spread 2 cups of sauce
over bottom of dish. Use a teaspoon or piping bag to fill each tube; place into
the baking dish. Spoon 2 cups of sauce over them, cover with aluminum foil and
bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil, spread
one cup of mozzarella over pasta; return to oven and bake an additional 15
minutes.
2 cups meat sauce bottom of baking dishCheese mixture in plastic bagCut corner off bagInsert open corner of bag into pasta tubeSqueeze cheese into tubeFilled Manicotti tubeTeaspoon method of filling pasta tubesFilled pasta tubes laying over sauceSpoon sauce over filled tub esAfter 45 minutes baking, top with cheese, bake 15 minutes moreLovely pan full of Baked Manicotti
Makes 6-7 servings (2
manicotti = 1 serving) Add a side salad and homemade garlic bread for an
exceptional Italian meal.
Note: This recipe makes 2
full 4-quart pans; bake one to eat, wrap the 2nd pan in aluminum foil, then
plastic wrap and place in freezer for up to 3 months. To bake, remove plastic
wrap; bake with foil on for 1 hour at
400F; remove foil and continue to bake for an additional half hour. To test cheese filling, stick fork into one manicotti,
press lightly against mouth to make sure hot and fully baked. Mary Cokenour