Easy Make-Ahead Homemade Manicotti

Instructions

1. For the sauce: Heat 1 teaspoon of sunflower oil in a medium-large pot over medium heat. Add onion and minced pork and cook until golden brown (about 10 minutes), breaking up meat with a fork until is crumbly. When meat is golden brown, pour off all accumulated fat except for 1 tablespoon. Add garlic and cumin and continue to cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, stirring continually. Add sundried tomatoes and tomato puree and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 5 minutes until sauce thicken. Remove from heat, add chopped parsley and stir to combine. Transfer sauce to an 20x27 cm baking dish.
2. For the filling: Combine ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium-size bowl. Stir until well combined. Set aside.
3. For the manicotti pasta: Whisk all ingredients together. Heat a 23 cm skillet until hot over medium heat. Remove pan from the burner and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Add 1/4 cup batter to the pan and swirl the pan until the bottom is evenly coated. Cook until the surface becomes slightly dull, about 30-40 seconds. Flip and cook opposite side for another 10-15 seconds. Slide the pasta circle onto a piece of parchment paper. Repeat, making 7 more pasta circles, stacking them between pieces of parchment paper. Continue with the recipe or refrigerate stack in a zip-lock bag, if not using right away.
4. To fill the pasta: Place about 1/6 of the filling (a large rounded tablespoonful) onto the lower end of one of the pasta rounds and roll into a tube shape. Place pasta tube on top of meat sauce in the pan. Repeat with remaining pasta rounds, snuggling the filled pasta next to each other on top of the meat sauce.
5. Top with 2 cups of shredded Cheeses.
6. Preheat oven to 180˚C. Cover the dish with foil so that foil is not touching the cheeses. Bake for 45 minutes then remove foil and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is beginning to brown at the edges. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley, if desired.

• Servings : 6
• Ready in : 80 Minutes
• Course : Main courses
• Recipe Type : Finger foods, Freezer-friendly, Pizza, Pasta, Spagetty, Quiches
• Ingredient : Butter, Can tomatoes, Cheddar cheese, Cumin, Dried tomatoes, Eggs, Flour, Garlic, Ground black pepper, Lean minced pork, Mascarpone cheese, Milk, Minced pork, Mozzarella cheese, Onion, Parmesan cheese, Parsley, Pepper, Ricotta cheese, Salt, Sunflower oil, Tomato puree, Yellow cheese