How to Properly Dine on Manicotti


Manicotti is a delicious dish that has been around for a long time. It consists of pasta shells filled with spinach and different kinds of cheese. The shells are topped with a red sauce and baked. This dish is very nutritious and you will surely want to add it to your favorites.

The first step to creating manicotti is to prepare the red sauce. The main stock of red sauce is pureed tomatoes. However there are several variations of red sauce you can make, depending on your taste. The following are 3 basic forms of red sauce.

Meaty – Many chunks of hamburger meat mixed into the sauce
Veggie – Many chunks of tomato and mushroom mixed into the sauce
Runny – Mostly just tomato sauce mixed with herbs

Once you have decided what type of red sauce you would like, it is time to mix the proper ingredients as listed above. Place in a large deep pot and simmer over medium heat. Once the red sauce has cooked sufficiently, you will need to place a thin layer in the bottom of a glass casserole dish. Place the pot with the rest of the red sauce back onto the burner on low heat. This will keep the red sauce warm while you make the shells. If you are too lazy to mix all these items together, you can substitute using an already made spaghetti sauce such as Ragu.

For this next step, you will need thawed spinach, cottage cheese and parmesan cheese. Start with the spinach. If spinach is thawed on the outside but frozen on the inside, it is acceptable to remove the thawed sections and place the frozen remainder in the microwave on medium heat. Be careful that the heat is not too high, as you do not want to boil the spinach in its own juices. If spinach looks brown around the edges, this is a definate sign you have nuked the spinach to death. After the spinach has been defrosted you will need to remove the water. The easiest way to do this is to ball the spinach up and squeeze. It is most advisable to do this over the sink. Feel free to let out any pent up aggressions you may have while squeezing the spinach. Keep squeezing until most of the water has been drained. Shake the spinach balls a little bit. Afterward you will notice that the spinach is about half the size it was to begin with. This is quite normal. You will probably also notice that your kitchen is covered in hundreds of tiny spinach flecks. This is also normal. Now compress the spinach balls into flat cakes and lay them on a paper towel. This will soak up any access water that you did not squeeze out. It is time to move on to the next step.

In a small mixing bowl, place spinach and cottage cheese in together. Slowly stir until spinach is no longer in flat blobs and is mixed completely with cottage cheese. Add shredded parmesan cheese. Fold into spinach mixture.

Now it is time to stuff the shells. Make sure the shell pasta you have is extra large size and uncooked. Take a fork and begin scooping out hunks of spinach mixture. Some shells will have a thinner opening than others and will be more difficult to stuff. Do not fret. Simply use the fork at an angle to stab the spinach mixture until it has been stuffed all the way inside. Continue stuffing the shell until it is about to overflow. Do this with all the shells until you run out of spinach mixture. Then place shells in the lined casserole dish.

The last step to preparing your manicotti is to take the remaining red sauce from the stove and pour it over the shells. Make sure they are completely covered.

You are now ready to bake your manicotti. Place casserole dish in the oven at 350 degrees for one and a half hours, or until shells are tender. If you prefer hard crunchy shells, you will need considerably less time. After all your work, you can sit down and relax while your manicotti bakes. Be sure to check manicotti periodically.

When the time is up, check your manicotti again. Notice the delectable aroma that wafts out to your nostrils. This is a sure sign the manicotti is ready to eat. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes.

After you have served up your manicotti, it is time to sit down and enjoy it with a loved one. As you are having stimulating dinner conversation, try to savor the flavors in the manicotti as it rolls over your tongue. You may feel so relaxed that you begin to bring up your problems from the day. If your partner’s day has been long and grueling, this could lead to an argument. If things get a little heated, resist the urge to throw your manicotti in your partner’s face while screaming that it took you two hours to prepare. Instead, throw your fork down onto your plate and go outside to cool off. You may still be very excited and need to take a walk. Your mate at this point will doubtless look out the window and see you gone. Your mate will then follow after you as you are wandering through the parking lot in your purple fuzzy slippers. When your partner catches up to you, accept their apology (however grudgingly). Go back home and sit back down at your table. Pick up your fork and resume eating your manicotti. You might still be a little angry, but wait until you are finished eating before bringing up your problems with your mate again. Rule #1 of good cooking – Never let a tasty meal go to waste.


© Nicole Whaley 2002
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