Libby Klein Every once in a while I gotta have red sauce, creamy ricotta, and melty mozzarella cheese. This is probably the most complicated version of those things you can make and one would ask oneself why would I do this? Why not just make lasagna? It's so much more simple and if I'm honest - tastes exactly the same. Or better yet, why not just order a pizza and go relax in front of the TV until it arrives? Because this girl likes variety. And once every ten years I like it enough to go to all the trouble of squeezing cheese into little tubes. Now I also have a great recipe for a white Chicken Spinach Artichoke Manicotti in the back of Mischief Nights Are Murder that I may share here one day. Of course, if you have the book you can just look on page 437. Tonight, however, I went old school.
I used Jovial Gluten Free Manicotti shells, but you can use regular glutenized shells if you want. If I didn't have celiac I would definitely be using San Giorgio. You may have to special order Jovial on the internet if you don't have a store that carries them nearby. The holes aren't as fat as with traditional brands, so a pastry bag really comes in handy when filling them with the cheese. The box directions say to boil for 4 minutes. I think 5 is better. A few of my shells were still on the overly-firm side of al dente.
Are you a Manicotti fan or are you team Lasagne? Let me know in the comments.
Gluten Free Cheese Manicotti
Ingredients
2 boxes Gluten Free Manicotti
shells (obviously cut this recipe in half if you want to make a smaller casserole.)
1 jar marinara sauce
16oz Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
1 Tablespoon garlic and herb spice
(or your own blend of Italian herbs)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Shredded Parmesan or Romano - optional
Directions
It’s best if you can start this at least three hours before you want to eat. The ricotta cheese will run out of the shells when it’s first baked so if you can let the casserole cook then cool then warm it up again it will hold its shape better.
Boil manicotti shells for 5 minutes.
Remove from the water with a spider or a slotted spoon.
Cover the bottom of your casserole
dish with marinara sauce.
Combine ricotta cheese, egg, herbs, garlic, and 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese.
If you have piping bags, it’s much easier to pipe the cheese into the par-boiled shells than to use a spoon – but a spoon will work. So, if you have them, transfer the ricotta to a piping bag with the end cut off around the size of the opening to your shells.
Fill your shells with the ricotta cheese and make a layer on top of the marinara.
Poppy is none too pleased when her B&B is coerced into participating in the Cape May Haunted Dinners Tour during Halloween season. Though her knack for finding dead bodies has given the place a spooky reputation, the Murder House is a completely undeserved nickname. At least it used to be . . .
While Poppy wrangles with some guests who can’t stop squabbling with each other—including a paranormal researcher, a very quirky pet psychic who freaks out her portly Persian, and an undercover tabloid reporter eager to catch her staff in a lie—one of them winds up facedown in a plate of tiramisu. And now she has bigger worries than getting her house TP’d . . .
Includes Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!
classes revolved mostly around the Culinary sciences and Drama, with one brilliant semester in Poly-Sci that may have been an accident. She loves to drink coffee, bake gluten-free goodies, collect fluffy cats, and translate sarcasm for people who are too serious. She writes from her Northern Virginia office where she serves a very naughty black smoke Persian named Sir Figaro Newton. You can keep up with her shenanigans by signing up for her Mischief and Mayhem Newsletter on her website. www.LibbyKleinBooks.com/Newsletter/
I've never made manicotti but I love lasagna. I don't make it much anymore as there is only 2 of us. I order it when we go out for Italian.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to make a lasagna for just two people, isn't it? I'm glad you can order it when you eat out.
DeleteThank you for the yummy recipe! For me, you can't go wrong with any dish that has pasta, sauce and lots of cheese. :) I've made lasagna a lot over time after I mastered my Mom's recipe taught to her by and Italian neighbor on an Army base back in the 60's. It's my go do dish often times.
ReplyDelete2clowns at arkansas dot net
I absolutely agree! No matter what shape it's in, pasta - sauce - and cheese is one of my favorites.
DeleteI have never found gluten free manicotti noodles!!!!! I am now on the hunt. I used to love having this dish before I found out that I'm celiac.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this fantastic recipe.
I'm so glad I got to share it with you! Now go get those noodles!
DeleteI have made manicotti, stuffing the shells using an ice tea spoon, but discovered pasta in the shape of big shells is much easier to fill! I'm team anything with red sauce, cheese and pasta! YUM!!!
ReplyDeleteI do love stuffed shells too!
DeleteI love the cheesiness of manicotti.
ReplyDeleteLasagne, manicotti, stuffed shells--how do you think they rank?
I've never made manicotti, but I've certainly bought them frozen.
"Butter a piece of foil and cover the casserole butter size on the cheese." I bet you mean "side". Just want you to know I actually read the whole recipe. ;O)
I DID mean side! I'm going to have to send you my recipes to proof from now on! I wonder how one would butter-size the cheese? Maybe that's like super size!
DeleteWow, this is a challenging recipe, but the results look amazing. Couldn’t I just come over to your house in the next 10 years when you make it again? 😂🤣🥲 I love manicotti, but I have it when I visit my brother in NY at a restaurant. We made your recipe for the Chichen, Spinack and Artichoke Manicotti, but we made it with Lasagna pasta. It was absolutely delicious and we will make it again 🕺🥳 At home we bake Lasagna often, and will try your filling. Thank you for this wonderful recipe ❣️ Luis at ole dot travel
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed the spinach artichoke filling! It's a nice alternative to the red sauce once in a while. And by once in a while I mean so you can have manicotti twice in the same week!
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