Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

Taken from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis – modified by Jenny

½ pound (8 ounces) ground beef
½ cup finely chopped onion
1 (500 g or 15 ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
14 pieces of manicotti pasta – this is one box
3 cups marinara sauce
1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces
Cooking spray

Heat a medium size, heavy skillet over a medium flame. Add the ground beef and onion and sauté until the meat browns and the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Stir in the meat mixture and set aside.

Spray a baking sheet with coking spray and set aside. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add the manicotti and cook until softened but still firm to the bite (6 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the manicotti from the pot to the prepared baking sheet and let cool.

Preheat the oven to 350 F spray a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish with cooking spray; spoon 1 cup of the marinara sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Fill the manicotti with the cheese-meat mixture, and arrange the stuffed pasta in a single layer in the prepared dish; spoon the remaining sauce over the manicotti. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup of mozzarella cheese and then the remaining ½ cup of Parmesan cheese. Dot the top with the butter pieces. (Manicotti can be prepared up to this point 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Bake the manicotti uncovered until heated through and the sauce bubbles on the bottom of the dish, about 35 minutes, let stand for 5 minutes and serve.

6 main-course servings.

The stuffed manicotti - I used my hands to stuff - way easier than a spoon

Ready for the oven

Enjoy!