Manicotti isn't an Italian pasta shape - it is one of those American Italian inventions. The closest you'd find in Italy would be cannelloni. I like the way the frills of manicotti collect sauce so I prefer it to the simple pasta tubes of cannelloni. In a pinch you could just as easily make this recipe with cannelloni noodles.
Oddly, manicotti became impossible to buy in grocery stores during the pandemic. presumably an issue of limiting what can come across the border. I bought two boxes of manicotti noodles on my one trip across the border when the border was open and no testing was required for day trips. Last week I decided to cook them up.
Normally manicotti noodles are stuffed with a ricotta/spinach/cheeses or a beef/tomato sauce filling. I wanted to shake things up a bit so I searched for a chicken manicotti recipe. This was one of the ones that came up.
I followed the recipe as written. One extra hint - dump the filling in a ZipLoc bag and cut off one of the corners. Use this as a pastry bag to fill your manicotti. You'll save a lot of time and mess.
Enjoy!
Chicken Manicotti
14 pieces Manicotti, cooked according to package
2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup shredded chicken
2 eggs
2 tsp oregano
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp italian seasoning
4-5 tbsp parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl combined shredded chicken, Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir until well combined.
Stuff each Manicotti with ¼ cup chicken mixture and place in a greased 9x13 pan. Continue rolling manicotti until all filled and in the pan.
Add crushed tomatoes to a saucepan over low heat. Add Italian seasoning, grated Parmesan cheese and stir until heated and simmering.
Pour crushed tomato sauce over Manicotti and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
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