Manicotti (Cannelloni) (2024)

Manicotti found their way to our home Food Table on many occasions. Of course, no one actually said “manicotti” with a proper Italian pronunciation. For the Italian American, who with no knowledge of the Italian language, pronounced the words as heard, the name became something like
“mah -nee-ghott.”

In Italian “manicotti” means “hand muff:” “mani” equals “hands” and “cotto” means “coat:” thus, “handcoat,” or “muff.” But the translation doesn’t stop there. If you look up the singular “manicotto” you will find a seemingly never ending list of plumbing products that seem to be connectors. Manicotti are also any type of hardware sleeving.

Image from http://cucinariodinonnaivana.blogspot.com/2011/02/cannelloni-di-crespelle-con-broccolo-e.html

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

La Mise-en-place : getting it together.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Manicotta are not a difficult recipe but they are very, very time consuming and require multiple steps. They are, in fact, the single most complex of any pasta dishes including ravioli. In this version, to save time, I have used bought fresh pasta rather than my Mom’s crepes or than making the pasta myself.

I have also used a béchamel with mushrooms rather than a red sauce. For the meat, you can use any kind of ground meat but here I have used turkey sausages. Of course, you don’t need meet at all. You can fill the rolls with cheese. Manicotti ( mah-nee-ghott) are a fantastic dish, but they do take time.

Equipment
Baking pan
Parchment paper
Mixing bowl
3 Fry pans or iron skillets
Pot of ice water
Tray and dish towel

Sheet pasta or fresh made crepes
Ricotta (1lb)
Pork or other sausage (3 links)
Mushrooms
Parmesan
Olive oil ( not shown)

For the sauce
Heavy cream, 1 pint
1 stick butter
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper

chicken or beef stock (optional - not shown)

Sausage

Slit the sausages and brown the meat,
Use a fork or potato masher to break down the meat,
Remove the sausage and set aside to cool.

Stock/ Wine

Add chicken or beef stock that you have heated in the microwave. You can also add some white wine or sherry.

Mushrooms

Chop the mushrooms into large pieces.

The Pasta

Slice the pasta into about a 6"x 6" square.

If you can, you may want to to use crepes.

Roux

In the same pan with the sausage drippings melt the butter and add the flower,.
Stir at least five minutes until the flour begins to brown.

Cream

Heat the cream in the microwave and add it to the butter and flour roux.

Browning

In a different skillet brown the mushrooms. Do not stir them about until they have browned on one side. Then, turn them to brown on the other.

Boiling

If you are using pasta, it needs to be par-boiled.
Set them in a pan of boiling water. When they come to the surface they are done.

Cooling

Immediately move the pasta to a pot of ice water to stop the cooking.

Filling

By now, the sausage should be cooled. Add the ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Stuffing Set out the pasta. Put about two tablespoons of the filling and roll.

Resting

Set the boiled and cooled sheets on a baking tray lined with a linen dish cloth.

Sauce

Add a bit of the sauce, about 1/2 cup, to the sausage and cheeses.

Mushrooms and Sauce

At this point add the mushrooms to the cream sauce.

Baking pan

Set the manicotti in a parchment lined baking pan and cover with the sauce.

Baking

Cover the pan in aluminum foil.
Bake for about 40 minutes at 325.