You can use the All-Purpose Pasta Dough recipe to make homemade manicotti. Once you've made the noodles by hand, you'll never again think that boxed manicotti tubes even come close to the real thing. For the stuffing, there is a riff on beef ragu. And together, the homemade noodles and filling make a cheesy, saucy, meaty, heartwarming dish for a cold winter's night.
Manicotti with Ragu Filling
MANICOTTI WITH RAGU FILLING
Serves 6
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary, chopped
1 lb ground beef
2 strips bacon, cooked halfway through and diced
2 Tbsp Marsala wine
1/4 cup marinara sauce, plus 2 cups for baking
3 Tbsp milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for topping
1 cup grated mozzarella, plus more for topping
1 recipe All-Purpose Pasta Dough
1. Heat olive oil in 12-inch saute pan. Add shallot, carrot and celery. Sweat veg over low heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and rosemary and cook 2 minutes.
2. Add ground beef and bacon and brown, smashing into small chunks. When browned, add Marsala, marinara, milk, salt, pepper and grated Parmesan. Heat through about 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and add the grated mozzarella. Let mixture cool.
3. While ragu mixture is cooling, cut pasta dough into 3 pieces so it's easier to work with. Cover the pieces you aren't working with plastic wrap so the dough doesn't dry out. Roll out dough using a rolling pin or pasta machine into a thin sheet. Cut dough into 6x5-inch pieces. When all the pieces are cut, cook the pieces in boiling salted water about 3 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet to cool a little.
4. Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9x13 baking pan by spreading the bottom and sides with a little olive oil, then add 1 cup marinara to the bottom of the pan. Place 1/3 cup of the ragu mixture in the center of each pasta sheet and toll up. Place in baking pan seam side down. Add 1 cup more marinara sauce to the top of the rolls, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan and mozzarella.
5. Bake 20-30 minutes or until heated through and the sides are bubbly. Let rest 5 minutes and sprinkle top with julienned fresh basil.