Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce

Ingredients
For the meat sauce
1 onion, chopped
6 ounces pepperoni, sliced
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
5 cloves garlic, minced
¹⁄₄ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 (28 ounces each) cans crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
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For the manicotti_
3 cups ricotta cheese
2 ¹⁄₂ cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 ¹⁄₂ cups provolone cheese, shredded
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper
¹⁄₄ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
16 no-boil flat lasagna noodles (This is one box of the Barilla kind.)

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375*F. Pulse onion and pepperoni in food processor until coarsely ground. Add beef and pulse until thoroughly combined.

2. Transfer beef mixture to large saucepan and cook over medium heat, breaking up mixture with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer 1 cup beef mixture to paper-towel lined plate and reserve. Add tomato paste, garlic, and pepper flakes to pot with remaining meat mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (At this point, sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for 3 days.)

3. Combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, 1 cup provolone, egg, salt, pepper, basil, and reserved meat mixture in large bowl. Pour 2 quarts boiling water into 13- by 9-inch baking dish. Soak noodles until pliable, about 5 minutes. Drain noodles on kitchen towel. Pour off water and dry baking dish.

4. Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Top each soaked noodle with ¹⁄₄ cup cheese filling, roll, and arrange, seam-side down, over sauce in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over manicotti. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and provolone. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. 

Comments
This recipe is from the 2009 Cook’s Country Annual and it’s the second time I’ve used America’s Test Kitchen’s method for making manicotti.  Regardless of the recipe you use, this method for making and filling the noodles is, hands down, the best ever.  It’s so very simple. 

Sadly, I’ve had the realization over recent months that I really don’t care that much for manicotti and lasagna.  I guess there’s something about the ricotta-based filling that is unappealing to me.  Oh well, everyone else loved them!

Shown here with Garlic Toast.

Cook’s Country 2009