Japexican goes Italian, Manicotti.

I have been meaning to write down this recipe for a long time. And this weather and mood seems perfect. Manicotti is a bit of a controversial recipe (Actually, once you have started to cook Italian and you have Italian friends you will realise that virtually ALL dishes in Italian cuisine are subject to controversies, interpretations and the fact that each friend will say that their mamma's version is the best one), some people prepare it with a pasta shell similar to cannelloni, and some other use crespelle (the Italian version of Crepes). I use the crespelle, in my opinion it gives the dish a silkier consistency and that feeling of comfort food that we all need right now!

This recipe was given to me by the mamma of a very good Italian friend of mine, and as such, I regard it as the best, so, if you disagree, you suck!

Anyways, here is my (slightly adopted version of the Mamma's recipe) Manicotti recipe.

For the Filling you will need

• Meat: 300 gr, preferably veal or a mix of veal and pork with a good percentage of fat in it.
• Garlic: One clove, finely chopped.
• Onion: A quarter of a small one, finely chopped.
• Mushrooms: Around 6-8 champignons, sliced.
• Olive Oil:  DUH!!
• Salt & Pepper: To taste.
• Béchamel: A cup is enough, you can substitute with a bit of cream or Greek yoghurt if you are counting calories, but you will not get the same silky smooth texture inside, your choice.
• Egg: One.
• Cheese: Ricotta, a cup.

The Ingredients for the filling.

1. Brown your meat, season well with salt and pepper.
2. Add the garlic and onion and stir until they get transparent.
3. Add the mushrooms and stir until they get soft.
4. Once the meat is properly cooked, leave it in the pan to chill for a while.
5. Stir in the béchamel, egg and cheese and incorporate. You should have created a yummy-looking filling.

Filling in the pan.

Making the filling creamy and awesome.

  

Now, for the crespelle you will need:

• Flour: All purpose, 1 cup.
• Salt: One teaspoon.
• Sugar: One teaspoon.
• Egg: One.
• Milk: Whole milk works best, 3/4 of a cup.
• Olive Oil: A dash for the batter and bit more for the pan.
• Baking Powder: One teaspoon.

Ingredients for the Crespelle

1. Sift your flour and combine all your 'dry' ingredients.
2. On a separate container combine all your 'wet' ingredients.
3. Slowly combine them and whisk vigorously until you have eliminated all the lumps and have a silky smooth batter.
4. Heat up a pan, medium heat and add some olive oil make sure all the bottom of the pan is covered with a thin layer of oil, you can use a piece of kitchen paper.
5. Take a kitchen spoon full or half a ladle of the batter and pour it on the pan. Move the pand around in a circular motion to cover the whole pan with the batter, it should be a very thin layer. Experiment a bit with the amount of batter until you get it right.
6. Once the batter starts forming a lot of bubbles is time to turn the crespelle around, lift it up and check if its properly cooked and golden brown, if so, flip it.
7. After a couple of minutes on the second side it should be ready, take it off the heat and reserve.
8. Repeat process until you finish your batter (around 16-20 crespelle)

Perfectly Cooked Crespelle.

 Now the sauce is a simple marinara, for that you will need:

• Tomatoes: I like to combine cherry and round tomatoes, like half and half to have a good balanc between the sweet and sour.
• Garlic: One or two big cloves, your choice.
• Onion:  About half a small onion.
• Basil: As much as you want.
• Olive Oil: Duh!

Ingredients for the Sauce.

1. Heat up a good amount of olive oil (don’t be cheap or afraid) in a small pan.
2. Fry up the onion and garlic just until they start gaining some colour, season with salt and pepper.
3. Dice up the tomatoes in the same size and add them to the sauce.
4. Let everything cook for a few minutes moving every now and then.
5. Add your basil, just warm it up.
6. Take it to the blender or bring your manual blender and blend the sauce into a velvety and red pot of deliciousness.
7. Take it back to the fire and let it boil up for a minute. Correct the salt and pepper.

The Sauce.

 Now that you have everything you will need to assemble the dish, for that you will need:

• The crespelle
• The filling
• The sauce
• A baking dish
• Mozzarella

1. You will now take the crespelle and fill them with the meaty and creamy filling. You can close the tips or leave them open, your choice.
2. Take a good spoon of the sauce and spread it on the bottom of the baking dish.
3. Now proceed to line up the filled up manicotti (they are filled so we can start calling them that) on the baking dish.
4. Cover with the sauce, don't be cheap, we want it all!
5. Top with chunks of mozzarella.
6. Bake at 180ªC for 10 minutes or until the mozzarella is bubbling and delicious.
7. Serve and Enjoy!

Sauce up the pan.

Fill them up!

Cheese it up!