Stuffed Manicotti With Lamb Sausage And Cheese Sauce

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Brush bottom and sides of 9" x 13" glass pan with olive oil.

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

For Stuffing: In a medium saucepan bring water to boil and add 3 Tb. kosher salt. Add beans and boil for 4 minutes. Drain and cut into 1/4 inch pieces and set aside.

In a large skilled over medium-high heat, add basil olive oil. Add shallots and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and 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 for about 8 minutes.

Turn heat to high and add wine, scraping bottom of pan with flat edged wooden spoon. Cook for 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. Set 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 under cooked and just tender. Drain and remove shells with a flat strainer or spider and place on oiled sheet pan in a single layer to prevent sticking.

Pour half of the homemade or jarred 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 the 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.

cook's 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 of them.

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 plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil.

When ready to cook the frozen one, remove from freezer and let defrost completely. Remove plastic wrap and foil and if you notice a substantial amount of watery liquid (which is normal) spoon water out before cooking. Bake as you would the first one.