Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
This homemade three cheese manicotti recipe I am sharing with you today is one you are sure to love. Simple to make it is rich and indulgent. Pure comfort food. If you are looking for a delicious dish to serve for meatless Monday, or looking to cut back on your consumption of meat, you cannot do much better than this tasty dish.
What you have here are delicious pasta tubes, filled with a lush and rich cheese mixture, baked beneath a layer of delicious marinara sauce and more cheese. Bubbly, cheesy and fabulously tasty. I promise you that you will not miss the meat! Seriously!
As a child I really had a hatred of having pasta mixed with meat. It was a texture thing. I couldn't stand the two textures combined. They didn't feel right in my mouth. I spent many mealtimes sitting in front of a plate of meat and pasta for hours long after everyone else had left the table while my parents forced me to eat what was put in front of me.
I got very good at extricating the meat from any pasta dish. I would use my fork and pick it all out of the holes in the macaroni. When I was done there would be a small pile of ground meat on the side of my plate.
I really did not like it and truth be told it is still not my favorite thing. That's why I love dishes like this one! Rich and delicious. Creamy and cheesy. True comfort food that everyone always enjoys.
A plate of this, with some salad on the side and a nice slice of crusty bread and I am in heaven.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE THREE CHEESE MANICOTTI
Just a few simple ingredients. You will need to buy manicotti shells. These are available in the pasta aisle of the shops.
- 4 ounces (113g) manicotti shells (6)
- 3/4 cup (340g) full fat ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups (170g) Mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
- 1/2 cup (90g) Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated and divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 fat clove garlic, peeled and grated
- 1 TBS chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt or to taste
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) good quality marinara sauce
As I said you can buy the manicotti shells in the pasta aisle of the grocery shop. The ricotta cheese will be in the cheese section, usually the specialty cheese section. If you cannot find that or you don't like ricotta you can also use the equivalent in cottage cheese or even cream cheese.
If you can, do grate your own mozzarella and Parmesan/Pecorino.
I grate my garlic on a fine holed micro-plane grater.
I used a really good jar of Marinara sauce. Favuzzi is the brand. It was marked down the last time I went to the grocery store and I picked up a couple of bottles. It comes right from Italy. You can use any good marinara/tomato sauce that you enjoy. There also happened to be just enough in the jar for this recipe.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE THREE CHEESE MANICOTTI
This is really not all that hard to do. Just make sure you don't overcook the pasta before you begin. You will want it to not be quite al dente, as it will cook further in the oven and you don't want them to come out mushy.
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the manicotti shells and cook for five minutes only. Drain well and lay out ready to fill.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the filled shells. Spoon about 1/3 of the marinara sauce in and spread it out.
Whisk the ricotta cheese together with the egg, 1 cup (111g) grated mozzarella, 1/4 cup (45g) of the Romano or Parmigiano cheese, garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, salt and black pepper together. Combine well.
Combine the remaining cheeses and set aside.
Fill the partially cooked manicotti shells. I put the filling into a zip lock baggie and cut one corner off and use this to pipe the filling in. Take care not to overfill them as the cheese will expand when it cooks.
Place each filled manicotti shell into the baking dish, placing them almost next to each other. They will swell when cooking.
Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over top to cover. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, uncovering during the last five minutes of bake time. The cheese should be a light golden brown and the sauce should be bubbling.
Leave to cool for five minutes before serving.
VARIATIONS AND POSSIBILITIES
This is a pretty simple barebones recipe. There are some options you can use to make it even tastier.
1. If you are not a vegetarian you can add some crumbled cooked bacon or Italian sausage to the filling, or even chopped browned pancetta.
2. Vary the cheeses. Fontina, Gruyere and Provolone would also be very good.
3. Sauteed mushrooms and or mushrooms would also be nice in the filling.
4. Not a fan of ricotta cheese, you could use cottage cheese in its place or even cream cheese. I can attest to the deliciousness of cream cheese.
5. You can add a layer of bechamel to the top prior to adding the remaining cheese.
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE BECHAMEL - Heat 1 cup (240ml) of milk together with 1/2 small onion that you have stuck with a clove and a bay leaf. Bring just to the boil then remove from heat and set aside for 30 minutes to infuse. Strain, discarding the onion, clove and bay leaf.
Melt 1 TBS of butter in a saucepan. Whisk in 1 TBS of flour. Cook for a minute and then slowly whisk in the infused milk. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until the mixture thickens and comes to the boil. Cook for two minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
I was probably a bit more than generous with the cheese on top (can there ever be too much?). It came out beautifully. If you wanted to you could also add a layer of bechamel to the top before you add the extra layer of cheese. This would make it even more delicious!
I enjoyed this simply with some salad and garlic bread on the side. I froze 2/3 of it in single serving containers to enjoy in the future.
Is pasta one of your favorite food groups? It is one of mine. I just love the stuff. Here are a few other pasta favorites of mine that you might also enjoy making and eating! These tasty options are also vegetarian.
PASTA E PISELLI - Simple ingredients put together in a simple way. Pasta, peas, water and cheese. It doesn't get any simpler or easier than this. You wouldn't think that simple things like this could come together in such a delicious way, but like magic, they do! I love this.
CREAMY SWEETCORN MAC & CHEESE - Cooked macaroni folded together with a creamy two cheese sauce, a can of creamed corn and some kernel corn. This gets spooned into a baking dish, topped with even more cheese and some buttered cracker crumbs before baking to cheesy corny perfection. Don't knock it until you try it!
Yield: Three servings
Homemade Three Cheese Manicotti (small batch)
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 40 MinTotal time: 1 Hour
Pure and simple comfort food. Pasta tubes stuffed with a rich and lush cheese filling, topped with marinara sauce and more cheese and baked to bubbly golden perfection.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces (113g) manicotti shells (6)
- 3/4 cup (340g) full fat ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups (170g) Mozzarella cheese, grated and divided
- 1/2 cup (90g) Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated and divided
- 1 large egg
- 1 fat clove garlic, peeled and grated
- 1 TBS chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt or to taste
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups (340g) good quality marinara sauce
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to the boil. Add the manicotti shells and cook for five minutes only. Drain well and lay out ready to fill.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a shallow baking dish large enough to hold the filled shells. Spoon about 1/3 of the marinara sauce in and spread it out.
- Whisk the ricotta cheese together with the egg, 1 cup (111g) grated mozzarella, 1/4 cup (45g) of the Romano or Parmigiano cheese, garlic, basil, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, salt and black pepper together. Combine well.
- Combine the remaining cheeses and set aside.
- Fill the partially cooked manicotti shells. I put the filling into a zip lock baggie and cut one corner off and use this to pipe the filling in. Take care not to overfill them as the cheese will expand when it cooks.
- Place each filled manicotti shell into the baking dish, placing them almost next to each other. They will swell when cooking.
- Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over top to cover. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, uncovering during the last five minutes of bake time. The cheese should be a light golden brown and the sauce should be bubbling.
- Leave to cool for five minutes before serving.
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I think pasta has to be one of my favorite things and yet it was not something we had very often when I was growing up. My mom never made macaroni and cheese or anything like that. She made hamburger macaroni every now and then (not my favorite) and when we got into our teens, she discovered what he called Italian spaghetti!!
She was really proud of that. It was a pound of ground beef browned in a saucepan with a can of Catelli pasta sauce added. Again, I was not a fan. The sauce was lackluster and to be honest I was not fond of the meat in the "sauce." It was fatty and just blech. It was a texture thing.
It got so she would save me a couple TBS of the sauce before she added the meat, and I would eat my spaghetti plain with that sauce and a bit of cheese on top. I was quite happy with that.
I have always been quite happy to eat my pasta without meat. This recipe I am sharing with you today is for a simple pasta dish which is creamy and comforting. No meat in it, but plenty of crispy tender broccoli. All folded together with a velvety Alfredo sauce and baked beneath a blanket of cheese. What's not to like about this one!!
This is a small batch recipe that makes two delicious servings! You can easily double it to feed more and make it ahead of time ready to pop into the oven at supper time if you wish!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BAKED BROCCOLI ALFREDO RIGATONI
Just a few simple ingredients. There is nothing overly complicated about this dish.
- 1 1/3 cups (6 ounces/150g) rigatoni pasta, uncooked
- 1/2 broccoli crown, broken into florets (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup (257g) Alfredo sauce (see below how to make your own)
- 1/2 cup (56g) grated Mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and bruised
- salt and black pepper to taste
You can use any tubular shaped pasta for this recipe. You could even use Fusilli if that is all you have.
You could use frozen broccoli if you wanted to. Thaw it first, but do not blanche it with the pasta when you cook that. Just add it thawed to the casserole and it will finish cooking in the oven without overcooking.
By bruising the garlic, I mean to bash it lightly with the bottom of a glass, cup or bottle. You don't want it smashed to smithereens as you will want to fish it out before putting the dish together so nobody gets a whole clove of garlic in the mouth.
HOW TO MAKE BAKED BROCCOLI ALFREDO RIGATONI
This is really not hard to make at all. The broccoli cooks in with the pasta during the last few minutes of cooking the pasta.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and then add the rigatoni pasta along with the bruised clove of garlic. Cook according to the package directions adding the broccoli florets during the last 2 minutes of cook time.
Drain well and rinse. Drain well again. Remove the garlic and discard. Return the pasta and broccoli to the saucepan. Fold in the alfredo sauce, coating everything well with it.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 4-cup/1/2-liter baking dish. Pour the pasta and broccoli mixture into the baking dish.
Mix the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses together. Sprinkle evenly over top of the pasta/broccoli. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until heated through and the cheese is golden brown.
Easy Alfredo Sauce (will printout with the recipe)
1 1/2 TBS butter
1/2 cup (120ml) half and half or cream
2 cloves garlic minced
3/4 cup (135g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/2 cup (120ml) half and half or cream
2 cloves garlic minced
3/4 cup (135g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream and garlic and bring to a simmer. (don't allow to boil) Cook, whisking for about 5 minutes. Add the cheese slowly, whisking constantly until melted. Season to taste with salt and black pepper and nutmeg if desired.
If you think your sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with a bit of milk or pasta water.
HINTS AND TIPS
1. You can add any variety of vegetables to the dish to increase the nutritional value of the dish and add color and interest. Mushrooms, peppers, carrots, cauliflower, peas, etc. Just blanch them before adding them. Fry the mushrooms and peppers.
2. This can be made ahead of time up to the point of oven baking it. Simply cover and pop into the refrigerator. Remove about half an hour before you want to cook it and proceed as per the recipe.
3. Feel free to add protein to the dish in the way of cooked and crumbled sausage, cubed cooked chicken or turkey, drained tinned salmon or tuna, etc.
4. Cook your pasta just to al dente. Over cooking it will make it mushy.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning along the way.
6. If possible, grate your own cheeses. They usually add something to pre-grated cheese to keep it from clumping together and to make it flow better. You don't really want that in your sauce or casserole.
This was exceptionally delicious and very easy to put together. I loved that it used only simple ingredients. I made my own Alfredo sauce and have added the recipe for that to the printable recipe in case you wish to do the same thing!
If you really wanted to you could add some tuna, salmon or cooked chicken to the dish. I enjoyed this with some crusty bread and a mixed salad on the side. It was super tasty!
You don't always need meat to make a fulfilling and hearty pasta supper. I often treat myself to indulgent vegetarian pasta options that are not only delicious, but I can promise you, the meat is never missed. Here are a few tasty vegetarian options that you might also enjoy!
.JPG "Easy Mushroom Bolognese")
EASY MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE - This is really delicious and not at all hard to make. If you have a food processor and use it, the work and time required is cut down considerably. Simple affordable everyday ingredients and deliciously on the table in about half an hour.
ONE PAN OVEN SPAGHETTI - A family classic with perfectly cooked spaghetti bathed in a rich, savory tomato sauce. Minimal effort required as it all cooks in the oven, including the spaghetti. Delicious and easy to make, this always goes down a real treat!
Yield: 2 servings
Baked Broccoli Alfredo Rigatoni
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 40 Min
A creamy and delicious baked pasta dish filled with crispy tender broccoli and a rich alfredo sauce.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups (6 ounces/150g) rigatoni pasta, uncooked
- 1/2 broccoli crown, broken into florets (about 1 cup)
- 1 cup (257g) Alfredo sauce (see below how to make your own)
- 1/2 cup (56g) grated Mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup (45g) grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and bruised
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and then add the rigatoni pasta along with the bruised clove of garlic. Cook according to the package directions adding the broccoli florets during the last 2 minutes of cook time.
- Drain well and rinse. Drain well again. Fish out and discard the garlic clove. Return the pasta and broccoli to the saucepan. Fold in the alfredo sauce, coating everything well with it.
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 4-cup/1/2 liter baking dish.
- Pour the pasta and broccoli mixture into the baking dish.
- Mix the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses together. Sprinkle evenly over top of the pasta/broccoli.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes until heated through and the cheese is golden brown.
Notes
Easy Alfredo Sauce
1 1/2 TBS butter
1/2 cup (120ml) half and half or cream
2 cloves garlic minced
3/4 cup (135g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and cracked black pepper to taste
freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the cream and garlic and bring to a simmer. (don't allow to boil) Cook, whisking for about 5 minutes. Add the cheese slowly, whisking constantly until melted. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and nutmeg if desired.
If you think your sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with a bit of milk or pasta water.
This content, written and photography, is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
Thanks for visiting! Do come again!!
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Hello May! Here's hoping it's a great month for everyone. This coming Monday is Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May and lots of people like to celebrate it. It's a holiday which celebrates the Mexican victory over the French forces at the Battle of Puebla on the 5th of May, 1862.
I am not Mexican, and it is not a day that has any particular meaning to me other than the fact that I love Mexican flavors and will take any excuse I can to celebrate them! When I saw this simple taco recipe on Flavorful Life, I knew that I wanted to try it, and what better excuse can there be than Cinco de Mayo!
Simple to make and with less than five minutes of prep, these delicious tacos are destined to become favorites. An easy Taco Bell copycat recipe that transforms a fast-food favorite into a quick and easy to make simple dinner that will go down a real treat any time!
Soft flour tortillas, rich melting cheese, crispy spiced tater tots, your favorite taco toppings and a creamy drizzle sauce ensure that this is something everyone will love. You might even convert a few of the carnivores in your life!
Sized for the smaller family, you can very easily double this recipe to serve more.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EASY SPICY POTATO SOFT TACOS
Just a few simple ingredients, put together in the most delicious of ways!
For the Tacos:
- 7 ounces (198.4 g.) frozen potato tots
- 1 tsp taco seasoning (I used Kanel Santa Fe Chipotle Honey)
- 1 1/4 cups (151g) grated cheddar cheese
- 5 street sized soft tortillas
for the garnishes:
- hand shredded lettuce
- finely chopped peppers
- finely chopped red or green onions
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup (55g) mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup (30g) dairy sour cream
- the juice of 1/2 lime
- 1-2 tsp. Cholula Chipotle hot sauce
For the frozen tater tots I ended up with exactly six for each of five soft tortillas. That filled them quite generously!
You can use any taco seasoning you wish. I used the Kanel because I have it and want to use it up before it gets stale. It has a really nice flavor and is great stirred into mayo for a dressing, or added to maple syrup for a spicy sweet drizzle and is fabulous with steaks or chicken as a dry rub.
I used a Tex Mex blend of already grated cheeses, mild. My tortillas were about 6 inches across, no larger.
You can use whatever taco toppings you enjoy. I really wanted guacamole, but the shops had no avocados that I was willing to part with my hard-earned cash for. sometimes I think we are really at the end of the food chain here, I really do.
Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. You can find the hot sauce in the Mexican food aisle in the grocery store. I actually keep three kinds of it in my house. The regular one, the green chili one and this one that I have used here today.
HOW TO MAKE EASY SPICY POTATO SOFT TACOS
These are really simple to make. The taters are cooked in the air fryer, but don't worry if you don't have one, you can also easily cook them in the oven instead.
To cook the potato tots, shake them together in a baggie with the taco seasoning. Spread out in a single layer in the basket of your air fryer.
Fry for 20 o 22 minutes at 400*F/200*C, giving them a good shake halfway through the cook time. (Alternately you can cook them in your oven according to the package directions.)
While they are cooking make your sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare all of your toppings.
Warm your tortillas as per your favorite method. (I heated mine in a non-stick skillet over moderate heat. In the U.K. I used to heat then over the gas flame of my stove. No gas here.)
Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over each. Place into a low oven to melt the cheese if desired.
Top each with 1/5 of the tater tots. Top the tater tots with some of the lettuce and other toppings. Drizzle the sauce over top and serve. Pass extra sauce at the table.
These were delicious and surprisingly filling! I can guarantee that you won't miss the meat. All of the other flavors are so tasty that you will be too busy enjoying them to notice there isn't any meat.
I had heated up some Mexican Rice in the microwave to enjoy with these, but in all truth, I was so full after eating only 1 1/2 taco that I did not have the room for it!
They are not quite as delicious as my Crispy Two Potato Tacos, but still, they were very enjoyable, which lets you know just how tasty the other ones are!
Do you enjoy Tacos and Tex Mex as much as I do? If so, you might also enjoy the following options. I can promise you that they are delicious!
QUICK & EASY BAKED CHICKEN TACOS - Quick and easy to make these simple baked chicken tacos are a real favorite. A crisp corn tortilla is filled with a layer of refried beans topped with a delicious creamy, spicy chicken filling and topped with cheese before baking to heat through in the oven. Delicious served with your favorite taco toppings.
BEEF BARBACOA TACOS WITH QUICK PICKLED ONIONS - Something I came up with to use up leftover cooked roast beef. These are delicious to say the least! You can make the onions up the day before if you wish. They will keep for quite a while. If you don't have any leftover roast beef, you can use ground beef and just cook as per the recipe.
Yield: Makes 5 tasty tacos
Easy Spicy Potato Soft Tacos
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 25 Min
These are fabulous. Super quick and easy to make and super delicious! Perfect for a weeknight supper when you are really on the run and don't have a lot of time to cook!
Ingredients
For the Tacos:
- 7 ounces (198.4 g.) frozen potato tots
- 1 tsp taco seasoning (I used Kanel Santa Fe Chipotle Honey)
- 1 1/4 cups (151g) grated cheddar cheese
- 5 street sized soft tortillas
for the garnishes:
- hand shredded lettuce
- finely chopped peppers
- finely chopped red or green onions
For the sauce:
- 1/4 cup (55g) mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup (30g) dairy sour cream
- the juice of 1/2 lime
- 1-2 tsp. Cholula Chipotle hot sauce
Instructions
- To cook the potato tots, shake them together in a baggie with the taco seasoning. Spread out in a single layer in the basket of your air fryer.
- Fry for 20 o 22 minutes at 400*F/200*C, giving them a good shake halfway through the cook time. (Alternately you can cook them in your oven according to the package directions.)
- While they are cooking make your sauce by whisking together all of the ingredients until smooth. Set aside.
- Prepare all of your toppings.
- Warm your tortillas as per your favorite method. (I heated mine in a non-stick skillet over moderate heat. In the U.K. I used to heat then over the gas flame of my stove. No gas here.)
- Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over each. Place into a low oven to melt the cheese if desired.
- Top each with 1/5 of the tater tots. Top the tater tots with some of the lettuce and other toppings. Drizzle the sauce over top and serve. Pass extra sauce at the table.
All rights reserved The English Kitchen
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
If you like what you see here, why not consider signing up for my newsletter and/or subscribing/following me on Grow. You can also bookmark my recipes via the Grow platform. Check out the heart on the right-hand side of the screen.
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