Third Mannicotti Dish

My parents came for dinner, so this was an opportunity to try this again. This time around I added porcini mushrooms to the cheese mix (minced) and sauce,(left whole) which brings a flavor all its own. I changed the parmesan to romano, went back to frozen spinach, (this really is better in taste and texture wise)fresh basil, (nothing like fresh basil) added garlic power to the cheese mixture, used my homemade garlic infused olive oil, in place of regular olive oil  (this lead to me cutting down on the fresh garlic) and added fresh parsley to the sauce and saved some for topping. this added a freshness to the dish as well as appearance. Just make sure after rehydrating the mushrooms to skim them off top of the water to avoid any grit in the recipe. I served this with homemade sourdough bread and ceasar salad with my own ceasar dressing. P.S. you can use the mushroom hydrating water in your recipe after straining it using a coffee filter or cheese cloth. It makes for great added flavor. In this case I saved it for a vege soup I will be making soon.

* Indicates part of the original recipe

Recipe:

• * 12 manicotti shells cooked el dente
• * 1 cup mozzarella cheese for topping
• 1/4 cup fresh romano cheese graded, in place of fresh parmesan graded for topping
•  small handful chopped parsley for topping

For the filling:

• * 10 oz. thawed frozen spinach (excess water squeezed out)
• 2 16oz. cottage cheese
• 1/3 cup mince rehydrated porcini mushrooms
• * 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• * 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
• 1 cup graded fresh romano cheese
• * 2 eggs

Combine all ingredients, cover and refrigerate ready to fill pasta shells

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

For the marinara sauce:

• 2 Tbsp. of garlic infused olive oil
• * 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced (3 cloves originally)
• * 1- 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatos in puree, roughly chapped
• * 1 sprig fresh basil
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup whole porcini mushrooms
• 1/2 cup merlot wine
• * 2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 pinch of crushed red pepper

Sauté the onion, garlic, and mushrooms in oil until onion is transparent. Add the wine and herbs, simmer until alcohol is burned off, about 3 minutes or so. add tomatos and paste and bring to boil, then set to simmer low for 10 minutes for flavors to marry. Keep in mind this sauce will thicken when baking, if you feel the sauce is to thick, add water or chicken stock to loosen a little.

In a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, pour 2 cups of the marinara in the bottom of dish and spread evenly. Fill each of the pasta shells with the cheese mixture and place uniformly, 6 on each side. Pour the remaining sauce over the manicottis. Sprinkle the mozzarella, romano, then parsley on top. Spray a piece of aluminum foil big enough to cover dish with non stick cooking spray and place it tightly over the dish. Poke a few whole in the top to allow steam out. Bake for 30 minutes, then take foil off and bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is browned and sauce is bubbling. Let set to cool a bit before serving. Enjoy!

This version was a hit, we enjoyed it immensely. I will make it this way again and again. This challenge was fun, and now the pressure is off. I got a chance to make something I have been wanting to try in like forever and I think I have perfected it. Until I think of something else to add. LOL