Baked Manicotti with Prosciutto

Ingredients
2 (28-ounces each) cans diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed, about 1 tablespoon
Pinch red pepper flakes
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
Ground black pepper
24 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
10 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
16 no-boil flat lasagna noodles, preferably Barilla
16 thin slices prosciutto

Instructions
1. Pulse the tomatoes with their juices, 1 can at a time, in a food processor until coarsely chopped with pieces measuring about ¹⁄₄ inch, about 3 pulses; set aside.

2. Heat the oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in a large saucepan over medium heat until fragrant but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside.

3. Stir the ricotta, 1 cup of the parmesan, 2 cups of the mozzarella, eggs, parsley, ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄₂ teaspoon pepper together in a medium bowl; set aside.

4. Pour 1 inch of boiling water into a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and slip the noodles into the water, 1 at a time. Let the noodles soak until pliable, about 5 minutes, separating the noodles with the tip of a knife to prevent sticking. Remove the noodles from the water and place in a single layer over clean kitchen towels. Discard the water in the baking dish and pat the noodles dry.

5. Spread 1 ¹⁄₂ cups of the sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange one slice of prosciutto on each noodle. Use a soup spoon to spread ¹⁄₄ cup o the ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the bottom three-quarters of each noodle. Roll the noodles up around the filling, starting at the bottom, and lay, seam-side down, in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce evenly over the rolled noodles, covering the pasta completely. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and mozzarella.

6. TO STORE: Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and then foil and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 1 month. If frozen, the casserole must be thawed completely in the refrigerator, about 24 hours.

7. TO SERVE: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400*F. Unwrap the dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray (or use nonstick foil). Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese is browned in spots, 25 to 30 minutes longer.

Comments
This recipe is from The Best Make-Ahead Recipe.  I saw an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where this was made and it looked brilliant.  I’ve tried to make manicotti once with manicotti tubes, and it was disastrous.  Using sheet pasta seemed like a brilliant solution and I have been eager to try this method since watching that episode!  

It did not fail me.  The noodles softened very nicely in the boiling water and that made the manicotti a cinch to roll up after filling.  The finished product was perfect.  You can easily omit the prosciutto for a meat free dish.  

The cooking times for this recipe are based on the dish being cold from the refrigerator when going into the oven.  If you’re baking it directly after preparation, it will take less time to be ready, so reduce the covered baking time in step 7 to just 15 minutes.

The Best Make-Ahead Recipe