Manicotti (Three Cheese, No-Boil Pasta Recipe)
A cheese and greens filled manicotti recipe topped with an authentic Italian tomato sauce which requires no pasta boiling.
Ingredients
- 8 oz escarole or spinach, steamed, squeezed dry, and chopped
- 2 ½ cups ricotta drained (good quality)
- 2 eggs
- 3 Tbsp Parmesan cheese or Pecorino Romano, grated
- 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 20 manicotti pasta tubes or cannelloni (up to 24)
- 1 cup pasta sauce and more to serve (see recipe in NOTES)
- ⅚ cup boiling water added to sauce
Instructions
Make the Filling:
- Preheat oven temperature: 375˚F (190˚C)
- Place the steamed escarole, endive or spinach into a large bowl, then add the ricotta.
- Add the eggs, grated Parmesan or Pecorino, salt, and pepper and mix well.
- Next, toss in the shredded mozzarella. Mix well.
Prepare the Sauce:
- You'll already have the tomato sauce from my recipe (in NOTES) but here's the trick to not boiling the pasta, adding water to the sauce. I say to use boiling water because I don't want you using hot water from the tap; it needs to be very hot.
- Put half of the sauce in a bowl (if it's about 1 cup of sauce, add just under 1 cup of very hot/almost boiling water. You can make this watery sauce as you need it so you don't end up watering down too much of the sauce.
- Spread a generous amount of the watery sauce in the bottom of the pan, then start filling the tubes with the filling.
Stuff the Manicotti Shells:
- As I said above, you can choose to use a piping bag without a tip, but it's really easy to use a small spoon, too. Use both ends to fill the manicotti shells as it's quicker than trying to push the filling all the way to the opposite end.
- Once full, place in the pan. Be sure to place them generously spaced apart as they will grow and spread.
- Once all the manicotti are filled (you may need another small tray if all of the manicotti don't fit (don't attempt to squeeze them in). I put 4 in a separate little dish. Make sure to cover all of the manicotti.
- Add enough watery sauce so that it comes about halfway up the pasta shells. We need this much liquid since the pasta hasn't been boiled (and absorbed the water when cooking). Let the shells rest for about half an hour before baking.
- Cover and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes, until the pasta is ready. You can remove the cover for the last 5 minutes if you like.
- Before serving, add some heated pasta sauce (the original batch, not watered down) to the manicotti. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and add a sprig of parsley for color, and enjoy!
Notes
- Authentic Italian sauce recipe here
- Measure the greens after cooking (1 cup packed.) Also try curly endive, using only the outside green leaves.
- Special equipment: espresso spoon, or other small spoon, 10" x 15" baking tray
- Buy 100% durum wheat semolina pasta, preferably made in Italy, hint: buy cannelloni
Nutrition
Serving: 1 manicotti | Calories: 233kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 707mg | Potassium: 207mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1136IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 277mg | Iron: 1mg
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