Manicotti the Crepe Way

[luckylori]

My Mom used to always make manicotti with crepes, rather than the pasta shells. I'd love to make this. I've found a couple recipes on line, but would love to have one that's a tried and true, especially by someone on this board. Anyone make manicotti this way? I don't need a sauce recipe, just the crepe part itself.

[Searcher]

I've never made manicotti with crepes but this is an almost foolproof crepe recipe from Julia Child. There's no real resting period because of the Wondra flour used.


An All Purpose Crêpe Formula (Master Recipe)
Julia Child, The Way To Cook
Makes 8 to 10 crêpes - 8 inches across

1 cup flour (instant-blending preferred, but all-purpose scooped and leveled, will do)
2/3 cup each milk and cold water
3 large eggs
¼ t. salt
6 T. clear melted butter (butter spooned off the milky residue)

Measure the flour into a bowl, then whisk in by dribbles the milk and water to make a perfectly smooth blend (if using regular flour, after mixing, pour the batter through a fairly fine meshed sieve to remove any lumps). Whisk in the eggs, salt, and 3 T. of melted butter (saving the rest to brush the pan with). Let rest 10 minutes - 1 hour or more in the refrigerator for regular all-purpose flour.

[luckylori]

Thank you Searcher...did you hear Julia Child just died?

[kjh01]

This is from The Italian Immigrant Cookbook, by Elodia Rigante. She grew up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood as my DH's grandma, so the recipes are the same. We love these - but be sure they are thin because they are very rich. We have them every Easter.

Manicotti Crepes
2 C flour
1/4 C olive oil
2 lg eggs
2 C water
1/8 tsp salt

Combine the ingredients un a large mixing bowl and beat until smooth. Batter will be thin.

Heat a crepe pan or an 8" skillet. (If the skillet isn't hot enough, the batter will stick.) Lightly coat with olive oil. (If you use too much oil, the batter will not spread thinly and evenly.) You should have to oil the skillet only after every 3-4 crepes. Ladle a small scoopful of the batter into the center of the pan and spread it evcenly over the whole pan by lifting and turning the pan. The batter will spread easily becasue it is very thin.

Cook over med heat until the crepe changes color and starts to curl up around the edges, about 2-3 minutes. You won't need to turn the crepe over - the batter is so thin that it will easily cook throughout. Use a spatula to gently loosen the crepe from the pan and lift. If the crepe sticks to the skillet when you try to remove it, it is not done. Cool on waxed paper that you've spread over the kitchen counter.

Fill each cooled crepe with a heaping tablespoon of ricotta mixture. Fold one half of the crepe over the middle, then the other half. Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with about 1/2 inch of marinara sauce. Retain enough sauce for drizzling over the top of the manicotti before you put them in the oven. Line up the manicotti next to each other in a large baking dish (seam side up) and drizzle sauce over the top of each one. Bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

[Searcher]

I heard about Julia. I'm sure we'll all miss her but I enjoyed learning from her so much.

[luckylori]

Ooh, Kim...thanks! I like the sounds of the olive oil in that!

[kjh01]

you're quite welcome! The olive oil is wonderful...adds richness and flavor, so they don't end up tasting like lasagna, in a different shape :)

[Rosechef]

Kim....Thank you so much for the Manicotti Crepe recipe! Both DH and I are first generation Italian and love manicotti made the old fashion way. When my grandmother died 25 years ago I was only 15 and wasn't into cooking yet...I never got her recipe. My MIL rarely makes crepes anymore and when I asked for a recipe of course she said to add "a little of this and that"...suffice it to say that didn't help either! So using your recipe, I set off today to make the crepes. I've made traditional ravioloi and lasagne more times than I can imagine, so the ricotta filling was a no brainer. The crepes came out perfectly! The whole family was so excited with the outcome!

Sorry to be so long winded, but girlfriend, YOU made my day!

Rose

[gabbyh]

OK guys...now how about some good fillings :D

~Gail

[kjh01]

YAAAAAAAY Rosechef! Glad I could help :) Aren't they fabulous?

If you are looking for a way to recreate some of your grandma's recipes, I can't say enough about Mrs. Rigante's book. It's in it's 2nd printing and you can find it at Amazon. You can't look at the pictures in the book without becoming hungry :) The only thing that's not in there is the way DH's grandma makes zeppole the Sicilian way, with baccala and raisins - but I got that recipe from my MIL so now I'm set.

Gail, here is Mrs. Rigante's filling recipe, with my notes in parentheses:

2 lbs Ricotta cheese (whole milk or part-skim, Polly-O is best if you can find it)
3 eggs
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley (or about 2 tbsp dried)
S&P to taste
1 C grated Romano cheese (sharper than Parmigiano-Reggiano, I think it has a better flavor in these types of dishes)
1/2 lb shredded Mozzarella cheese

In a large mixing bowl, whip the ricotta with the eggs until smooth and creamy. Stir in the remaining ingredients and set aside.

(This is also pretty much what I use for lasagna, ziti etc. except I don't add the Romano into the mixture, I sprinkle it on separately.)

[Rosechef]

Gail...The recipe that Kim posted is excatly the way I make my ricotta filling for lasagna and ravioli. Tried and true from my Italian grandmother. You can even add some cooked spinach to it and it is wonderful!

Rose

[kjh01]

Rosechef, I'm tellin' ya...get the book! It sounds like you grandma grew up in that neighborhood too! :)

Lasagna is especially good with a layer of crushed meatballs that have been simmering in your sauce all day....yuuuummmmmmm.

Speaking if which, gotta go make some lasagna and freeze the rest of my sauce. :p

[luckylori]

Okay, you convinced me. I've put in a bid for that book on ebay. Hopefully none of you will outbid me! :p

[kjh01]

luckylori, you' won't regret it! I think it's one of the best Italian-American cookbooks out there. Plus the pictures are fantastic and she has a lot of family photos and stories, you feel like you know her.

[Rosechef]

:) Okay Kim, you convinced me! I order the book off of Amazon this AM! After looking through the 50 plus cookbooks I have (egads!) I realized I don't have a single Italian cookbook! How is that possible? I guess all I've learned about Italian was passed down to me from family. Well, I look forward to looking through this one.

Thanks,
Rose

[kjh01]

come to the Italian Immigrant Cooking light....:D

Yaaay! I can't wait to hear what the two of you think about the book.

[luckylori]

Kim, Some evil person swept down when I wasn't looking and outbid me by 22 cents!!!! Wah! I don't see any more on ebay. :(

sniff sniff

[kjh01]

oh NO!

There is one on half.com: http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi?cpid=428160&domain_id=1856&meta_id=1

It's for the same price on ecookbooks.com and on amazon.com. I'm sure you had a better price for it, though.

Oh pooh! Hopefully it will come around again soon on ebay...

[luckylori]

Thanks Kim! Through your link I got it for $13.99 plus shipping (buy it now--not taking any bidding chances again)...on ebay. :D

[kjh01]

Wonderful! Let me know when you've tried something out of it. :)

[luckylori]

I just got mine in, and I could cry it's so wonderful! This is the cookbook my Grandma could've made! The memories are flowing here.
Can't thank you enough, Kim! :D

[Rosechef]

Kim and Lori....I just made the Ricotta Gnocchi from this book! I love gnocchi, but hate going to the hassle of peeling potatoes and dealing with that mess when preparing them. This recipe was easy and fun....just ricotta, an egg, flour, salt and pepper. They are sitting (uncooked of course) on my counter top drying a bit so I can boil for dinner tonight! Can't wait to try them!

Rose

[luckylori]

Originally posted by Rosechef
Kim and Lori....I just made the Ricotta Gnocchi from this book! I love gnocchi, but hate going to the hassle of peeling potatoes and dealing with that mess when preparing them. This recipe was easy and fun....just ricotta, an egg, flour, salt and pepper. They are sitting (uncooked of course) on my counter top drying a bit so I can boil for dinner tonight! Can't wait to try them!

Rose

And what time should I show up? :p

[Rosechef]

OH Wow! The Ricotta Gnocchi were divine! They are heavy and a little goes a long way, but so good! I served them with Pesto and a side of chicken cutlets and salad. This will be in my aresenal for a long time. The batch was said to serve 6 people. I only made half the batch and had plenty....of course DH and DS (13y) devoured them! Highly recommend. If anyone wants the recipe, just let me know. They are NOT light.

Rose
PS Lori...Come over anytime! The wine was good too...:)

[kjh01]

Hmmm, Ricotta Gnocchi sounds divine...I'll have to try that recipe! And with pesto? Yum-MEE.

Rosechef, how do you do your chix cutlets? I'd love to compare recipes.

I'm going to do the Lemon Chicken tonight for a BBQ tomorrow. I've had it baked, but tomorrow we will grill it and I'm sure it will be just as yummy.

I would love to try some of her alternative sauces, like the corn sauce (it looks amazing).

I love this cookbook! :)

[Rosechef]

Kim, I have to admit the cutlets are nothing fancy :)

I use thinly pounded chicken, I dredge them in and egg/milk wash and then dredge them in bread crumbs seasoned with Italian Seasoning, ground black pepper and parmesean cheese. Then I lightly
"fry" them in olive oil just until they turn a golden brown. I let them sit on a cooling rack to help drain off any excess oil and then I pat any remaining oil off with a paper towel. That's it....very easy. I have baked them in the past, but they just don't get the same flavor/texture. The amount of oil they soak up is really minimal and it just tastes so much better. I usually serve with lemon wedges. Also...I love them cold or room temperature!

That Corn Sauce does look good....I also thought the Carrot Sauce might be fun to try!

Rose

[kjh01]

Yours sound very similar to mine: egg/flour, then a mixture of parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, a bit of oregano and some Romano cheese, and panko crumbs. I agree about the baking vs. pan frying - I do like the texture.

I usually make a big mess o'cutlets and freeze them - it's an easy dinner to pull them out along with some tomato sauce for a quick meal.

That's a good idea about the cooling rack - I usually just do paper towels but I think I will try that next time.