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Rebecca Nielsen's Recipe

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Stuffed Manicotti with Lamb Sausage and Cheese Sauce

Category: Lamb

Serves/Makes: 4 to 6
Difficulty: 3
Prep/Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Preheat oven 350 degrees
Brush bottom and sides of 9 x 13 glass pan with olive oil.

Ingredients:

Cheese Sauce

1 cup milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
8 ounces grated Pecorino Romano (about 4 cups)
1/3 cup fresh basil chopped

Stuffing

2 Tablespoons Basil Olive Oil* (or very good olive oil) plus more for finishing
2 medium shallots finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic grated on microplane
1 pound lamb sausage (bulk or with casing removed)
1 T ground fennel
1/4 cup white wine (your favorite)
14 green beans, trimmed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
2/3 cup whole milk ricotta
14 manicotti shells

Topping

4 cups homemade spaghetti sauce or 1 1/2 jars (32oz) marinara sauce
12 ounces (about 3 cups) shredded fresh mozzarella

Directions:

Cheese Sauce - In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine milk and heavy cream. When bubbles appear (do not boil) turn down heat and add grated Pecorino Romano. Whisk until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and add chopped fresh basil. Set aside.

Stuffing - In medium sauce pan bring water to boil and add 3 T kosher salt. Add beans and boil for 4 minutes. Drain and cut into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.

In large skilled over medium-high heat, add 2 Tablespoons Basil Olive Oil. Add shallots and 1/4 t salt and 1/4 t black pepper. Saute for 1 minute then add grated garlic. Saute 1 minute more and add sausage and ground fennel. Using a potato masher (not ricer) break up sausage as it cooks until it resembles ground beef. Cook about 8 minutes. Turn heat to high and add wine scraping bottom of pan with flat edged wooden spoon, cook about 2 minutes. Turn heat off and add chopped green beans, ricotta and 1 1/4 cups of the cheese sauce. Mix very well and taste before adding any more salt. The pecorino romano cheese is very salty and you may not need more salt. Seat aside.

In a large pot bring water to boil and add 4 Tablespoons kosher salt. Gently place manicotti shells and cook about 8 minutes. Shells should be undercooked and just tender. Drain and remove shells with flat strainer or spide and place on oiled sheet pan in a single layer to prevent sticking.

Pour half of the homemade or jared marinara sauce over bottom of greased 9 x 13 glass pan. Using a large zip top bag or a disposable pastry bag, spoon filling into bag and snip the tip leaving an opening big enough to let filling flow easily into shells. Holding shell flat in one hand, insert filling bag into one end of shell and gently squeeze bag from top filling the entire shell. Do not overfill shell to reduce chance of breaking. Place shells on top of sauce in pan.

Spoon rest of marinara sauce over top of shells. Pour rest of cheese sauce over sauce and sprinkle liberally with shredded mozzarella. Drizzle top with Basil Olive Oil and bake about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden.

*The Basil Olive Oil is available at The Olive Tap in Long Grove, IL or online at theolivetap-dot-com

Cooks Notes - The reason I say to cook all 14 manicotti shells that come in the box is that a couple usually tear. However, if you are lucky and they don't this recipe will fill all 14. What I do since the kids are grown and gone is divide the shells, filling and sauce into two 8 x 8 square pans and bake one and freeze one. If you do freeze one, cover tightly with saran wrap and then with aluminum foil. When ready to cook the frozen one, remove from freezer and let defrost completely. Remove saran wrap and foil and if you notice a substatial amount of watery liquid (which is normal) spoon water out before cooking. Bake as you would the first one.


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