Four Cheese Manicotti with Meat Sauce

I wish I could say that I tossed this all together in an hour for a quick and hearty supper during the week, but I would be lying if I did. This is one of those meals that needs to be done on the weekend because of all the simmering, mixing and baking that needs to happen. I split this up into two baking dishes — one that I enjoyed this past weekend and the other went into the freezer to be reheated when I want a hearty dinner during the week. The effort involved is worth it because the end result is a creamy and hearty pasta dish that makes you feel all good inside.

Four Cheese Manicotti with Meat Sauce
Makes 10 filled manicotti tubes


For the Sauce
1 pound ground beef
1/2 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
24 ounce can of whole plum tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup water
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt

For the Pasta
1 ten-count box of manicotti
15 ounce ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella, plus a little extra for topping
1/2 cup shredded provolone
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus a little extra for topping
2 eggs
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt
pepper

Start by heating 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add in the onions and garlic and cook until softened. Add in the ground beef and continue cooking until the meat is cooked through (you may need to raise the heat a bit). Add in the tomatoes, with the juices, along with a 1/2 cup of water, fresh thyme and balsamic. Break up the tomatoes with a spatula or spoon and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and then cover with a lid and lower the heat to medium or low. You don’t want the sauce to boil – just allow it to simmer. I recommend letting it simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally, to allow it to thicken and reduce. Be sure to taste and season with salt as it cooks.

While the sauce is doing it’s thing preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the cheese filling by combining the four cheeses along with the parsley and thyme in a medium bowl. Add in the eggs, nutmeg, salt (a few pinches) and pepper (a few turns of the grinder). Stir until combined. Spoon into a large zip lock bag and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain and toss with olive oil to keep from sticking. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish with some of the sauce. To fill the tubes, cut a corner of the zip lock bag to make it easy to squeeze the filling into the manicotti tubes. Squeeze in enough filling to fill the tubes with a little extra room on each end. Line them side-by-side in the dish. Ladle some sauce over the top and sprinkle the extra mozzarella and Parmesan on top. Cover with tin foil and bake for approximately 20 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes. Allow to stand a few minutes before serving.

2012-12-15 16:46:03

Source: http://www.girlgonegourmet.com/2012/12/four-cheese-manicotti-with-meat-sauce.html