This white manicotti is stuffed full of delicious, flaky crab meat, smothered in a creamy bechamel sauce. Be sure to use the freshest crab you can find as seafood quality certainly makes a difference. This is a decadent seafood pasta dish that the whole family can enjoy.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces manicotti pasta
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Filling
- 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese - divided
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 pound lump crab meat
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
Bechamel Sauce
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups milk
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Lightly grease a 9x13 casserole dish.
- Cook the manicotti according to package directions.
Make the bechamel sauce:
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Stir in the flour to form a paste and cook it for about a minute.
- Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the salt, white pepper, and nutmeg.
Make the filling and stuff the shells:
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, sit together the ricotta cheese, 3/4 cup parmesan, egg yolk, fresh basil, salt, and pepper.
- Gently fold in the crab meat.
- Fill the manicotti shells with the crab mixture and place in the prepared pan.
Assemble, bake, and serve:
- Pour the bechamel sauce over the pasta. It may seem like a lot, but make sure you use all the sauce.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella and the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.