the first basil of the season

I love that fresh basil is available year round in most grocery stores, and I use it all year long in everything from pesto to Thai stir fries, but I must admit, there is something very satisfying about plucking my first basil leaves from my own herb garden.

my little herb garden.  There's basil, bay, rosemary, onions, garlic,

savory, thyme, parsley, sage, lemongrass, oregano, marjoram, and chives

So, in celebration of that first "plucking" I decided to make some herb and cheese manicotti.  When you are making manicotti, or canneloni, forget those silly dried tubes that require pre-cooking and are slippery and awkward to fill.  Instead, opt for fresh pasta, if you have the time to make it, or if you don't, a box of "no boil" lasagna noodles.  My favorite is made by Barilla, and a simple 10 minute soak in warm water yields tender, perfectly sized rectangles of pasta that cook up tasting remarkably like home made pasta.

With manicotti,  a simple sauce with clean flavors will really set off the more complex flavors of the filling.  And there is no simpler a sauce than this classic Italian tomato sauce.  It is nothing more than garlic, tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  

Peel and slice about five medium cloves of garlic, as thin as you can get them.  One of those cheap little hand held mandolines does a fantastic and very quick job of this.  I'm not sure why, but the slices just seem to work better.  I think it's the way they just seem to melt into the sauce.  But if you are feeling lazy or you're in a hurry, this sauce would be delicious made with a couple of tablespoons of the jarred garlic as well.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot over medium heat, until just shimmering.  While that is coming up to temp, open either two 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, or one 32 ounce can.  My favorite is the Muir Glen Fire-roasted tomatoes, for their bright tomato flavor and medium bodied puree.  Have them at-the-ready, by the pan on the stove.

Now, here is the only fussy part, and it takes just about 3 minutes.  Put the garlic in the shimmering oil, and cook it until it is just barely golden.

barely golden, thin slices of garlic, poaching in olive oil

As soon as they begin to color, dump in the tomatoes, and reduce the heat to medium low.  Add about a teaspoon and a half of salt, and several grinds of pepper, and simmer for about 20 minutes.  You will have a lovely sauce, tasting of sweet tomato and mellow garlic.  Simple, delicious, great on pasta, raviolis, or manicotti, and easy to freeze, so don't be afraid to make a big batch and put a little away for a rainy day.

While the sauce simmers, put the noodles (about 2 or 3 per person is good) in a bowl of warm water to soak.  A food processor makes quick work of the filling, but it is easy to make by hand, too.  For ten manicottis, I use a 32 ounce container of ricotta (I prefer the whole milk ricotta, but the part skim will work), 6 ounces of Parmesan cheese (please buy good parm in a block), about 2 cups (packed in) of fresh basil leaves, and 3 cups of (packed in) fresh Italian parsley leaves.   Put the parm into the food processor, and chop it until there are no large chunks left.  Add the ricotta, 3 teaspoons of nutmeg, a teaspoon of salt, and several grates of fresh pepper, and pulse to combine.  On top of that mixture, add in your herbs.

the filling, ready for the final mixing

Pulse in the herbs, until everything is just combined.  Drain your noodles, and spread them out on a towel, and dab the water off of the top of the noodles with another towel.  Set the oven to 375, and start assembling the dish.  Now, here is a trick I learned from Marcella Hazan.  Instead of putting a big lump of filling in the center of the noodle and wrapping it up, spread the filling over the noodle, and roll it up like a bedroll.  It keeps the filling lighter, and gives you a better proportion of noodle to filling in every bite.

place a dollop of filling on each noodle, spread it out, and roll.

place the rolls in your pan, over a ladle-full of the sauce

I make ten manicotti at a time.  Five for Jim and me to eat, and five for a second pan for the freezer.  Once you have them in the pan, top them with more sauce, and some grated mozzarella, and a little parm or gruyere, if you'd like.

pop this in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is brown

and the sauce is bubbling

I think one of the reasons I love dishes like this is because, while it bakes in the oven, I can pour a glass of wine, clean up the kitchen at a leisurely pace, and make a little garlic toast and a simple salad.  After dinner, there is nothing left to do but pop the plates in the dishwasher and go sit on the deck.

The finished dish, sprinkled with a few chopped herbs

A delicious and satisfying dish.