Three Cheese Lemon Ricotta Manicotti with Tomato Sauce

SERVINGS: 6
DIETARY: None
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
PREP/COOK TIME: 40 min/40 min

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Sauce

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
  
• 5-6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 28 oz can san marzano tomatoes
• 1/2 c. fresh basil
• 2 oregano sprigs
• 1 parmesan rind
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flake
  
• 1 tbsp. dried oregano
  
• salt to taste

Pasta

• 8 oz. manicotti pasta shells (or use the pasta dough from the Butternut Squash Ravioli recipe, pipe the filling in, and roll into cigar shapes)

Manicotti Stuffing

• 20 oz. whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 c. shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg whisked
• 2 tbsp. minced fresh basil
• 1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
  
• 1 tsp. salt more or less to taste
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Topping

• 1 c. torn Mozzarella cheese for topping
• 1 c. of the tomato sauce

1. Preheat a large pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Saute diced onions, carrots, celery and garlic first until softened. Add canned tomatoes, bay leaves, oregano, crushed red pepper and salt.
2. Stir well, cover with a lid but leave a crack for steam to escape. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add basil, stir, and cook for another 20 minutes or so.
3. Take out and discard bay leaves, oregano sprigs, and parmesan rinds and blend sauce in the blender until smooth. Add more salt and store in the fridge until ready to use.​
4. Bring a pot of water to boil and salt it. Cook pasta in salted boiling water for 6 minutes, drain off water, and set pasta shells aside on a clean cutting board to cool down.
5. Spread about a cup and a half of marinara sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Set aside.
6. Combine all ingredients for the stuffing in a mixing bowl and mix until evenly incorporated.
7. Transfer prepared stuffing into a large piping bag (I use 16 oz piping bag.) Tie the opening of the bag with a produce rubber band and cut off the tip when ready to stuff pasta tubes.
8. Hold manicotti shell in one hand and squeeze the stuffing into it from the piping bag, filling it almost full. Don’t overfill though or a lot of it will come out while baking. 
9. Nestle stuffed manicotti in the sauce. Repeat with all the manicotti pasta shells.
10. Spread more marinara sauce over the top of all the filled manicotti.
11. Spread mozzarella  cheese over the top.
12. Preheat the oven to 375F.
13. Place the stuffed pasta dish into the oven.
14. Bake for about 30 minutes and remove from the oven to cool down before consumption.  Garnish with extra basil.