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Different strokes for different folks. My Italian grandma learned to cook from her mother who immigrated to this country in the 1930s. She made manicotti pasta shells (pasta crepes) from scratch and depending on what she filled them with referred to them as manicotti or cannelloni. Call them whatever makes you happy but bottom line they are homemade fillable pasta shells.
Grandma’s original recipe used whole eggs but that is a deal breaker for my hubby who is a cardiac patient. My version of the recipe uses egg whites, flour, salt and water. They taste and baked up like grandma’s regular manicotti shells. It is a thin batter that can be cooked in a skillet or on a griddle. I made them using both methods.
The shells are versatile and can be stuffed with all kinds of filling. Each shell clocks in at 0.65 pt per shell (rounding up to 1 pt). In comparison, San Giorgio manicotti tubes are 1.64 pt per shell (rounding up to 2 pt). The homemade shells allows for a decent serving size at a reasonable number of points.
Please see the recipe card below for exact amounts and directions.
Ingredient Round Up
- Flour
- Egg whites
- Water
- Salt
Making the Manicotti Shells
- Place the flour, egg whites and salt into a mixing bowl and start to stir together.
- Add in the water and mix until it is totally incorporated. You are looking to have a very thin batter.
- Spoon some batter into a skillet or onto a griddle. Use the back of a spoon to spread it out into a thin disc of batter. As soon as the surface appears dry, use a fork to flip them over and cook on the other side briefly.
- When the shells are done, remove them from the skillet/griddle and transfer them to a clean dish towel to cool.
- As soon as they are cooled, the manicotti shells can be filled and baked. The shells can be stacked, placed in an air tight container and refrigerated for several days until ready for use.
WW 1 pt per shell; 3 pt per 4 shells; makes 23 shells
Equipment
- griddle or skillet
- mixing bowl
- measuring spoons and cups
Ingredients
- 1¼ c all purpose flour, Gold Medal
- 3 egg whites
- 1 c water
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Place the flour, egg whites, salt and water in a mix bowl and mix together. I usually use a fork to incorporate all the ingredients. You could also use a whisk or immersion blender. You are looking for a thin batter that easily pours off of a spoon. See photos above in the body of this post.
- Preheat a skillet over low-medium heat or preheat a griddle set to 300℉.
- Use a ¼ c measuring cup and fill it half-way with batter or use an ⅛ c measuring cup if you have one.
- Place the batter into the skillet or onto the griddle and quickly take a soup spoon and use the back of it to spread the batter out into a thin disc or circle. See photos above in the body of the post.
- The shell will cook quickly drying out on the surface - as soon as it does, take a fork and flip over and let it cook on the other side for 30-60 sec.
- Remove the shell from the skillet or griddle and transfer it to a clean dish towel to cool.
- As soon as the manicotti shells are cooled, they can be stuffed with your favorite filling and baked.
- If you are not going to use the manicotti shells immediately, stack them and place them in an air tight container and refrigerate up to 3 days until ready to use.
