Lunch / Dinner
Chicken and Sausage Manicotti
This pasta casserole represents the best in Italian cooking: casual yet beautiful food filled with hearty, bold flavors. You can assemble the dish ahead and chill until ready to bake.
Ingredients
For the filling —
Seek out pasta sheets without curly edges. Accordion-folded ones work, too, but don’t roll quite as nicely. Boil the sheets just until fl exible. After draining and rinsing, immediately separate the sheets so they don’t stick together.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°. Coat a large casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Sauté chicken and sausage for the filling in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. When the meat is brown, add mushrooms, bell pepper, garlic, and Italian seasoning; cook until vegetables are soft, 8–10 minutes. Season mixture with salt and pepper, and remove from heat; cool briefly.
Blend fontina, ricotta, Parmesan, scallions, and egg together in a large bowl; fold in chicken mixture until combined.
Melt butter for the béchamel in a large saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour and cook 1 minute.
Whisk milk into butter and flour gradually, then increase heat to medium-high. Bring béchamel to a simmer, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens; remove from heat and add salt, nutmeg, cayenne, and white pepper. Coat bottom of prepared baking dish with 1 cup béchamel.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 4 minutes, or until pliable; drain and rinse. Fill and roll manicotti, then top with remaining béchamel and the mozzarella. Bake casserole, uncovered, until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let manicotti stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Pat the pasta dry and measure 1/4 cup filling onto each sheet. Don't overfill or it will squish out the sides.
Roll the manicotti like a rug—snugly, but not so tight the pasta tears.
Arrange the rolled manicotti in the prepared baking dish and drizzle the remaining béchamel over the top.
Nutritional Facts
Nutritional Facts
Per manicotti
Calories: 304
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 23%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 68mg 22%
Sodium 473mg 19%
Carbs 23g 7%
Fiber 1g 4%
Protein 18g
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.