Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Coming from the rich Italian cuisine, Manicotti is a dish of pasta filled with savory fillings and topped with a tangy tomato sauce.

Locally called cannelloni in Italy, Manicotti is traditionally served on Sundays after church. After the Second World War many Italians immigrated to America, especially New York. Here cannelloni got the name Manicotti, and became one of the famous dishes served by Italian eateries in Brooklyn.

Traditionally, squares or rounds of pasta are filled with ricotta cheese and some sort of meat or vegetable topped with tomato sauce, ragù or béchamel.

This recipe is a delicious version of the dish made with a beef and cheese filling that will get your mouth watering just by its aroma.

Ingredients

pound ground beef: 1

medium onion (chopped coarsely): 1

salt to taste

tsp ground black pepper (fresh): 1

tbsp olive oil: 4

pieces or 8 ounce packet Cannelloni or Manicotti pasta: 14

cups mozzarella (shredded): 3

ounce packet ricotta cheese (low or full fat): 115

cup Parmesan cheese (grated): 1

garlic cloves, minced: 2

tbsp fresh italian parsley (chopped): 2

cups marinara or pasta sauce: 3

tbsp butter (sliced): 2

How To Make Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Sautéing Beef and Onions

1. Heat a heavy bottom skillet of medium size over a medium flame and add olive oil.
2. Add onions and ground beef to the hot oil and fry for a minute.
3. Season the onion and beef with salt and pepper (you can add additional seasonings like paprika and red chilli flakes if you like) and sauté for 4 minutes.
4. Cook the meat mixture until the beef browns and onions become translucent. Then remove from flame and allow it cool down.

Boiling Pasta

1. Coat a large cookie sheet with butter and keep aside.
2. Fill a deep large pot with water, add salt and bring to a boil.
3. Add cannelloni/manicotti pasta into the water and cook for 4-5 minutes or until al dente.
4. Fish out the cannelloni from the water with a slotted spoon and place it on the buttered cookie sheet and let it cool down.

Beef and Cheese Filling

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F/175 C.
2. In a clean bowl add half of the mozzarella, parmesan cheese to the ricotta and flavour with salt, garlic and ground black pepper. Mix until everything is well combined.
3. To the cheese mixture, add the now cooled beef-onion mixture and incorporate by folding gently.

Stuffed Manicotti

1. Oil a 9 by 2 inch glass baking or lasagne dish with olive oil and spread 1 ½ cups of marinara/pasta sauce on the bottom.
2. Stuff the cooled manicotti tubes with the beef and cheese filling and line them in the baking dish.
3. When all the pasta is layered in the dish, pour the remaining half of the marina sauce over the stuffed manicotti.
4. Sprinkle the remaining half of mozzarella and parmesan over the sauce and layer the butter slices.
5. Put the dish in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
6. Take it out of the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Trivia

• The pasta is originally called Cannelloni which comes from the word cannelone that means “a big pipe”. While manicotti comes from manicotto means “a big sleeve”.
• Did you know that in the olden days and even in some homes now, Italian women used to make the manicotti pasta at home from scratch! While nowadays you can find the pasta in packets.