Meat Manicotti
This Meat Manicotti is delectably different from everyday pasta dishes. Watch the video to find out about my trick to make stuffing easier.
Ingredients
- 3-4 cups pasta sauce, or as needed see Recipe
- 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 3 slices bread, torn into small pieces
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 large free-run egg, beaten
- 1 1/4 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated tips & tricks
- 1 1/4 cups (300 g) ricotta cheese tips & tricks
- 14-16 manicotti pasta, uncooked
- 3/4 cup Grana Padano cheese, grated
- 1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped tips & tricks
Directions
- Grease a baking dish with cooking spray and ladle a thin layer of pasta sauce (*see footnote) on the bottom; set aside.
- In a large bowl filled with hot water from the tap, drop manicotti in and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes. This will help to soften them up.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Halfway thru cooking, season with freshly ground black pepper before adding pressed garlic.
- Remove from the heat and drain the meat; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine bread and milk; let it sit for 2 minutes. Add a beaten egg and the drained meat; stir until combined.
- Add mozzarella and ricotta cheese; stir until well blended.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Working on one manicotti at a time, remove excess water and tightly stuff with meat mixture. Place stuffed pasta over the sauce in the prepared baking dish.
- Ladle more pasta sauce over the stuffed manicotti; set aside.
- In a small bowl combine parmesan and parsley. Sprinkle the parmesan mixture on top of the manicotti before transferring the the preheated oven. Bake for 35 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let is rest 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
Footnote: When I make my sauce for this particular recipe, I skip the meat.