Best Baked Manicotti — A Dish for the Table I’m Still Setting

The cookbook is on shelves. Tuesday was launch day. The Sapulpa dinner Saturday at the cafe was sold-out at twenty-four seats. Cody cooked six recipes from the cookbook in sequence as a tasting menu — the cafe’s pulled-pork-buns appetizer (cookbook chapter two), my baked manicotti (cookbook chapter four), the cafe’s slow-roasted pork loin (cookbook chapter five), the Cody-developed cashew chicken (cookbook chapter seven), the herb-buttered baby carrots side (cookbook chapter nine), and the chocolate praline torte (cookbook chapter twelve). Mama ran front-of-house with three of her cafe staff. The agent flew in from New York. The publisher’s publicist flew in from New York. The Tulsa World’s food critic was there. Two regional-paper critics from Oklahoma City and Wichita were there.

The dinner ran three hours. The reviews are coming in this week. The Tulsa World’s review ran Sunday morning under the headline “The Cafe’s Cookbook Is The Cookbook That Northeastern Oklahoma Has Been Waiting For.” Cody framed the headline. Mama is going to frame her own copy of the article when it arrives.

I came home Saturday night exhausted in a good way and Sunday morning got up early and made baked manicotti at the apartment because the manicotti was the Sapulpa-dinner’s second course and the household had been wanting it ever since I’d been gone for the launch dinner. Brayden specifically had been asking for it because he had heard about it from Mama on the phone Sunday morning.

The technique — the cookbook version: cook a fourteen-ounce box of manicotti shells al dente in heavily salted water. Drain. Lay on a sheet pan in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking.

The filling: in a large bowl, combine fifteen ounces of full-fat ricotta, a cup of grated mozzarella, a half-cup of grated parmesan, two large eggs, four cloves of garlic minced, a half-cup of fresh chopped parsley, a quarter-cup of fresh chopped basil, a teaspoon of salt, a half-teaspoon of black pepper, a half-teaspoon of red-pepper flakes, a pinch of nutmeg.

The marinara: from-scratch tomato sauce simmered fifteen minutes — crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar.

The assembly: spread two cups of marinara across the bottom of a deep nine-by-thirteen baking dish. Stuff each manicotti shell with the ricotta filling using a piping bag (a zip-top bag with the corner snipped works fine). Arrange the stuffed shells in the dish in two rows. Pour the remaining marinara generously over the tops. Top with two cups of grated mozzarella and a half-cup of additional grated parmesan.

The bake: covered with foil at three-fifty for thirty minutes, then uncovered for fifteen more until the cheese has bubbled and browned at the edges.

Garnish with fresh basil and a final drizzle of good olive oil. Cut into portions. Brayden ate two manicotti shells. Wyatt ate one (his brown-and-white phase has loosened slightly under cheese-and-pasta’s influence). Dustin had four. The remaining six fed three lunches across the week. The dish that was the Sapulpa-launch-dinner’s second course is now back home at the apartment table where it belongs.

Stuff with ricotta filling using a piping bag. Marinara below and above. Foil for thirty, uncovered for fifteen. Here’s the build.

Best Baked Manicotti

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 12 manicotti shells
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 large egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups marinara sauce, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil and spread 1 cup of marinara sauce across the bottom.
2. Cook the pasta. Boil the manicotti shells in salted water for 6–7 minutes, until just shy of al dente. Drain, rinse gently with cold water, and lay them out on a clean kitchen towel so they don’t stick together.
3. Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, egg, garlic, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir until well blended.
4. Fill the shells. Use a small spoon or a piping bag to carefully fill each manicotti shell with the ricotta mixture. Arrange the filled shells in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
5. Top and cover. Spoon the remaining 2 cups of marinara sauce evenly over the shells. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
6. Bake covered. Bake covered for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the pasta is fully tender.
7. Bake uncovered. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 12–15 minutes, until the cheese on top is melted, golden, and slightly crisp at the edges.
8. Rest and serve. Let the manicotti rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with extra parsley and a pinch of Parmesan if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 26g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 51g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 780mg