Friday, June 24, 2011

My First Manicotti

What do you do when you only have 2 sheets of fresh lasagna left?
Make manicotti!

This may highly resemble the lasagna from my last post.
That's because I made this just a day or two after the lasagna, as I had leftovers of just about everything.
But this time I made sure to use a healthy dose of prosciutto.
The hubs and I are not vegetarians.
Yay pork!

I start out, as ever, sautéing some shallot and garlic in olive oil, and once it was translucent and fragrant, I added some diced asparagus and cooked it for about 2-3 minutes.
Season with salt.

Next I added a splash of white wine, some prosciutto cubetti, sliced sun-dried tomatoes (marinated in garlic, herbs, and olive oil), and some fresh basil ribbons.
Cook another 3-4 minutes to combine and the white wine has cooked away.

I was using the Giovanni Rana fresh lasagna sheets, so I could just lay it out to fill without any pre-boiling messing about.  Spread some fresh ricotta in a line, top that with everything from the pan, and give it a roll.

Sauce in the bottom of the pan before placing rolled manicotti.

Top with a bit more tomato sauce (just marinara from the fridge) some sliced mozzarella, a sprinkle of grated cheese and basil, and it's ready to bake in a 350º oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the top is melted and the inside is bubbly and hot.

If your finished product doesn't look aesthetically pleasing enough, at the 20 minute mark turn on the broiler and cook another 2-4 minutes, or until the cheese is brown and bubbling.

Allow to set before serving or cutting into  the manicotti.
Who knew manicotti was just an answer to leftover lasagna ingredients?!

1 comment:

Chuck said...

Man does that look good! I'm too tired to make it tonight but I'm thinking of eating it anyway...delivered from the local Italian place!