Filling:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon butter
2 1-ounce packages of chopped spinach, drained
1 pound ricotta cheese
1 4-ounce package of shredded mozzarella (plus a little extra for topping)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (same as above)
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
Crepes:
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter
1/2 cup sifted flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Don't forget your favorite sauce, homemade (you'll get a gold star) or not!
Mamala's Crepe Manicotti
Amanda Drake from Florida | Origin: Italy
54% enjoyed this recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
For the filling, start by sauteing the chopped onions in the butter until soft. While they're cooking, mix all of the other ingredients together in a big bowl, adding the cooked onions and butter into the final mixture.
Next make the crepes - Beat the eggs thoroughly, adding the milk and olive oil / butter. Sift the flour with salt and add to the egg mixture. Beat just until smooth. On a griddle or flat nonstick plan, heat a little bit of olive oil or butter. Drop the crepe batter, in 5-inch rounds, onto the griddle. Cook, turning once, until light brown on both sides.
Prepare a large baking dish by spreading some of your favorite sauce on the bottom. Next, add a couple of tablespoons of filling to the middle of the crepe, roll up and lay seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat! Top the dish with a little bit of sauce and mozzarella or Parmesan cheese (or a little bit of both), and bake until bubbly, about 20 minutes. Great with fresh basil on top to finish it off. Enjoy!
Since my Grandpa Morabito moved to the United States from Calabria, Italy, as a teenager, it's been a long-standing family tradition to prepare a feast on Christmas Day - Always a surprising, home-cooked and well-loved Italian menu. When he and my grandmother passed away in the mid-1990s, my Mom (better known as Mamala), sister (Katieboo) and I have worked to carry the torch every year, "togethering" mid-Christmas morning to work out the day's recipes as a perfectly synchronized team before everyone arrives. I should note that we're NEVER finished before then... but have fun with it anyway :)
Everything about this dish reminds me of home, with the recipe having been passed down from generations and adapted by Mamala herself with the substitution of crepes - A favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. It's tucked away in her tried-and-true '63 Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, hand-written on the opposite side of an aged "Business Reply Mail" envelope, which was ripped in half at some point and is freckled with what I imagine to be some bubbly, saucy concoction from Christmas Days past. The true marks of a great recipe.
You'll most enjoy the amazing combination of tastes and textures - The crepes add a surprising softness to the Manicotti, which (I promise) you'll never want to eat with plain old pasta again!
While we all know change is constant, especially in tough times and felt even more so during the holiday season, it's recipes like this that have laid a foundation for my family year after year - An expectation of great food, great company and a great time. Sending best wishes that it brings your family together like it has mine!
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