MANICOTTI WITH RICOTTA FILLING

MANICOTTI WITH RICOTTA FILLING
(crepe style)

This manicotti recipe was inspired by a dinner I had at Little Venice in Binghamton, NY. The manicottis are made with thin crepes not the traditional rolled out dough.

Ingredients:
3 med eggs
1 cup flour, sifted
1 ½ c milk
1 tbl oil
Dash of salt
1 lb creamy ricotta cheese
½ c parsley, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
¼ c grated parmesan cheese
2 c prepared tomato sauce

Directions:

To make the batter, beat eggs, which should be at room temperature and add flour gradually. Add milk oil and salt, stirring with a fork to make a smooth batter, don’t overbeat..
Heat a large skillet or seasoned skillet thoroughly, add a little oil to pan if needed. Place a heaping tablespoon of batter on the pan and spread and shape it as you go. Working rapidly. It only takes a minute or 2 for the crepe to cook. The finished crepe is about 5 in. in diameter and on a large skillet several can be made at one time. The pancakes can be larger if you choose, but the small ones make an attractive dish.

When the bottom of the crepe is lightly browned and it can be lifted up easily with a spatula, it is cooked.
Do not turn it, but transfer it, being careful not to break it, to a flat dish. As you stack the crepes, the cooked side goes on the unbrowned side- but don’t worry, they won’t stick together. This part can be done several days in advance. You will get about 24-28 crepes from this amount of batter. Just refrigerate them, don’t freeze, covered with wax paper.

The filling should be prepared on the day you plan to serve the manicotti. In a mixing bowl, beat ricotta with a spoon, add parsley, salt, and parmesan cheese. Then add beaten egg and blend thoroughly.
To fill, place a generous tablespoon of filling in the middle of the crepe on the uncooked side. Roll it up like a jelly roll, and place in the baking dish, seam side down. (Spoon a thin layer of tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish first). This can be done in the morning and the manicotti refrigerated until you are ready to put them in the oven. Then cover them with a light layer of sauce and bake preheated 350 oven until bubbling hot about 20 minutes. Serve with rest of sauce, which should be very hot.