Cheese Manicotti with Tomato Sauce

Even thought Michelle's family was not Italian, and the family she married into didn't necessarily act Italian, her married name was Luccio. This was all she needed to turn herself into quite an accomplished Italian chef (I apologize to anyone who has an Italian grandmother who would probably scoff at our American version of Italian cooking). She always made lasagne to go beside her Swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve. Rarely was a meal served without crusty bread of some sort. And she made amazing manicotti. I, personally, can make a pretty good manicotti with a trusty jar of pasta sauce from the store, but of course Michelle's manicotti recipe comes along with a recipe for the tomato sauce. I do feel obligated to let you know that we did find this recipe torn out of a magazine and pasted to a 3x5 card in the recipe box, but I'm typing it from the handwritten card that Michelle copied it to. That counts as her recipe right?

Cheese Manicotti with Tomato Sauce

Manicotti Filling:
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
1 cup cubed mozarella
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 egg
1 egg yolk
salt and pepper

Puree in food processor in small batches. Cover and chill for one hour.

Tomato Sauce:
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 lbs tomatoes chopped into large pieces
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
2 spring parsley*
3 sprigs thyme*
1 bay leaf*
*All tied together in a bouquet garni (google it, I don't know what it is either)
2 cups broth

Cook the onion and celery in 1 Tb. butter and 1 Tb. olive oil over medium heat until softened. Add remaining ingredients except broth and cook, stirring constantly, for two minutes. Cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer for 15 minutes more. Add broth and cook over medium heat for 50 minutes to one hour, or until sauce has reduced to 2 1/3 cups. Puree.

Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce into buttered 15 1/2 inch gratin dish. Divide cheese mixture among 12 cooked manicotti shells (or the manicotti pancakes below, rolled and placed seam side down) and arrange them on the sauce. Pour 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce over the manicotti. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup parmesan and dot with 3 Tb. butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.

If you are feeling surprisingly adventurous, the printed recipe also has the recipe for the "manicotti pancakes." Kyle says he thinks Michelle usually just bought shells, but he did admit that she has been known to make her own pasta so you never know. I don't think this step is necessary, but it just feels wrong to leave it out. I'm just typing it straight from the card, so please excuse if the wording is weird.

Manicotti Pancakes
In a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in a blender blend 2/3 cup each of flour and milk, 2 eggs, and 1/4 tsp salt for 5 seconds. Turn the motor off and with a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of the container. Blend the batter for 20 seconds more. Transfer the better to a bowl and let it stand, covered with plastic wrap, for 1 hour.

Heat a 6 to 7 inch crepe pan (preferably iron) over medium high heat until it is hot. Brush the pan lightly with clarified butter or oil. Heat the fat until it is hot but not smoking, and remove the pan from the heat. Add 2 Tb. water to the batter. Stir the batter, half-fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup with it, and pour the batter into the pan. Quickly tilt and rotate the pan so that the batter covers the bottom in a thin layer and return any excess batter to the bowl. Return the pan to the heat, loosen the edge of the pancake from the pan with a metal spatula, and cook the pancake until the underside is lightly browned. Turn the pancake and brown the other side. Transfer the pancake to a plate or clean tea towel. Make pancakes with the remaining batter in the same manner, brushing the pan lightly with clarified butter or oil as necessary. Stack the pancakes and keep them warm, covered with a clean tea towel.

The pancakes may be prepared in advance, stacked, wrapped in plastic wrap, and refrigerated or frozen. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Now that is how you make manicotti.