The real name of this recipe is "Maniladas" but I thought that would scare people away. This recipe is a cross between manicotti and chicken enchiladas. Spicy and stuffed with chicken like enchiladas; pasta with a creamy cheese sauce like manicotti. If you can't decide between Mexican and Italian, this is the recipe for you!
Ingredients: manicotti shells, olive oil, onion, garlic, cooked chicken, salt and pepper, tomatoes, fresh cilantro, sour cream, tomatillos, red onion, jalapeno, butter, flour heavy cream, creamy cheese such as fontina or havarti and nutmeg.
I didn't get pictures throughout the process this time : / but to make the filling, saute onions and garlic in olive oil in a skillet until soft. Remove from the heat and add chopped cooked chicken (I roasted mine; you can also boil it or buy a cooked rotisserie chicken at the grocery store), chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro and sour cream.
Mix it all together and season with salt and pepper.
Cook the manicotti shells according to the package directions. Reserve some of the pasta water. Stuff the shells with the filling. The best way to do this is with your hands.
To make the cheese sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the flour.
Let it bubble and cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches a golden color and smells like browned butter.
Whisk in the heavy cream and bring it to a simmer to thicken the sauce, whisking constantly.
Toss in the shredded cheese. I used havarti because I couldn't find fontina at my local grocery store. Sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't :( Havarti is white, mild and creamy. The perfect substitute!
Whisk it until all the cheese has melted and the sauce is nice and thick.
Spread it over the stuffed shells.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until heated through and bubbly.
To make the tomatillo sauce, toss the tomatoillos, red onion, jalapeno and a couple of cloves of garlic in olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes until soft and caramelized.
Move directly to a food processor.
And pulse until combined. Use a little of the reserved starchy cooking water from the manicotti shells to thin the sauce to the right consistency.
Spread a thin layer of the tomatillo sauce over the cheese sauce.
And dig in! The tomatillo sauce is very spicy, but it balances well with the creamy cheese sauce. The sauce has a ricotta-like consistency, which gives it that manicotti texture. It's manicotti with the spice and flavor of chicken enchiladas. My husband and I really enjoyed this!
Link to the printable recipe:
Source: Sunny Anderson
No comments:
Post a Comment