I used to make spinach manicotti once a week, from the autumn through the spring. Since the eldest boy had to go gluten free, I haven't made it. It was one of his favorites. Even during the worst of his feeding difficulties, I could get him to eat an entire manicotti (as a toddler!) with relish. There was no readily available gluten free manicotti pasta available to me. I have discovered the Caesar brand frozen spinach cheese manicotti, but it's not at my local market. There were so many other recipes to adjust, so many other challenges, that I simply took it off our menu as a family. The Vintner doesn't like spinach. Since he is also gluten free, I have made two meals, a gluten free one for them, and a gluten inclusive meal for the rest of us. I wouldn't think of the effort for manicotti as worth it for us, seeing as I had to make two (or more) meals in addition. As much as I love manicotti, it wasn't a priority previously.
Now that I've adapted to recipe to making it with homemade gluten free crepes, it's back on the weekly menu. It's no more difficult than manicotti, since making the pasta and making the crepes takes the same amount of time and effort. Plus, stuffing is much easier with crepes. This is one of my few recipes in American measurements, instead of metric, mostly because I am buying some of the ingredients, like ricotta, in American measurements. Conversion upon request.
1/2 c. white rice flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
3/4 c. whole milk
at least 2 tbsps butter
16 oz ricotta cheese
9 oz package frozen spinach
nutmeg, freshly ground
2 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
15 oz can of tomato sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp, to tasteolive oil
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
Blend the flours together with the salt. Make a well in the flours and crack in the egg into the center of the well. Whisk in the egg into the flour, gradually pulling in flour from the sides of the well. Slowly add in the milk until the batter is even and thin. Melt butter in a skillet. Allow to cool slightly. Add the melted butter to the crepe batter. Whisk until blended. Put the skillet over the burner on medium heat. Pour the batter into the skillet, using just enough to cover the base of the pan. Fry until set, bubbles may or may not form on the surface, just a couple of minutes. Flip the crepe over and cook for another minute or until set. You don't want them crispy, just cooked until set and very pliable. They will cook again, so slightly underdone is fine.
Remove from the pan and cool. Repeat until all the batter has been used.
In a large bowl, mix the ricotta, 2 oz mozzarella and 1 oz Parmesan cheeses. Defrost the spinach. Drain the spinach in a sieve, squeezing out all the excess water. The spinach should be fairly dry. Add the spinach to the cheeses and grate nutmeg over the mixture. Set aside.
Open the tomato sauce and put it in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat. Add in olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Most brands of tomato sauce are fairly salty and don't need much. I buy a relatively mild brand, and I do add salt. Mince or press the garlic clove into the sauce. Simmer the tomato sauce, while preparing the other ingredients. The minimum amount of time is to cook the garlic, about five minutes, but tomato sauce improves with long slow simmering.
Spread a spoonful of spinach cheese filling over a crepe. Roll up and place seam side down in a baking pan. I use an 8" x 8" glass pan, but any pan, size or shape will do. Continue will all the crepes until the pan is full or the filling is gone. Or, this recipe can be made ahead, and then assembled one by one for single servings. Poor tomato sauce over the crepes. Sprinkle over remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese melts and the dish warms through. Unlike with manicotti, the crepes don't require long baking. You only need the sauce to meld with the crepes and the cheese to melt.
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