Friday, November 23, 2012

Leftover Turkey Manicotti – “Little Muffs” for the Day After the Day After

Manicotti, which means, “little muffs” in Italian, has to be one of the best ways ever for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey. 

The moist filling will bring the driest bird back from the dead, and you can literally add anything that can be chopped up.

Leftover green bean casserole? Throw it in. Peas and Onions? You bet’cha. Cranberry Sauce? No, don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, thanks to the absence of cheese, tomato, and pasta on the usual Thanksgiving menu, this concoction will erase any connection with the aforementioned feast.

One portioning note: The recipe below made six crepes, and if you make yours slightly smaller, the filling recipe will make six nicely sized manicotti. 

I went low-carb and used all the filling to make four portions, but you should probably just fill all 6 crepes, or even double the recipe to get 12. I think you’ll want leftovers of the leftovers. So whether you make manicotti with the last of the holiday turkey, or just use the technique to recycle other meaty meals, I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 6 crepes:
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp olive oil
olive oil for cooking crepes as needed
*Note: Feel free to adjust the batter's thickness by adding a little flour or water until you get a thin consistency as seen in video. 
 
For the filling:
1 cup chopped turkey or anything
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/8 tsp red chili flakes
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
For the rest:
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for top
1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley, garnish

23 comments:

Unknown said...

That's a lot of cheese, huh? What if I don't have ricotta and I'm too lazy to go and buy it? Would it be very different?

Pythons said...

well just got done making these chef johnnyyyy

must say i really liked em

i added garlic to the filling which is nothing crazy

i made two batches, one with dark meat and one with white meat
- i enjoyed the dark meat ones more

one thing i would recommend is baking the manicotti for 20 mintues with no sauce, and put the sauce on for the last 20 minutes to keep them from drying out

S/V Blondie-Dog said...

Hi Chef,

I was all set on using up any left over turkey on making your Short Cut Chicken Enchiladas. I'll give this a try instead.

Thanks!

Gurdiak Tinar said...

One question, what brand of tomato sauce do you use?

Chef John said...

I like barilla or make my own!

cdcphoenix said...

Yum. This is a great use for leftover turkey. I'll get on this tomorrow, for sure.
Question: I've always made crepes with milk or milk and water. Most recipes I've seen use milk. Are you using water for this recipe specifically, or do you usually make crepes with just water, and either way, why? Thanks.
Claudine

Chef John said...

The water because that's how the Italians I know do it, and it's more pasta-like that way.

Estoy_Listo said...

Great recipe. Easy and fun to make, and very tasty.

Chef John, you are quite the fellow--in all catagories!

Estoy_Listo said...

This is a new recipe for me. Made it last night, and it turned out great. Easy and fun to make.

Thanks, Chef John

Anonymous said...

It's the most beautiful leftover makeover I've ever come across. Others are just like "meh, chuck a couple of lettuce under or boil the leftovers to death in some soup." This is awesome and so doable. I'll try it with chicken in a pasta tube. Will cream cheese work?

jason ciaccio said...

Hey Chef John, I vegetarianized this (no turkey--balsamic mushrooms and garlicky spinach instead). Was a total hit and the best meal of my thanksgiving day weekend. You rule!

PhillyBear said...

HI Chef, I love your site! The Italian word manicotto is a mufler...but the literal translation is even cooler...it means "cooked hands"...apropos, I thought
Keep 'em coming!
Jason from Philadelphia

julianna said...

Que ricoooo..!!!! it looks delicious :D

Unknown said...

These turned out great! To season the mixture, I used dried oregano and Egyptian basil in addition to the crushed red pepper. And you were right about them making great leftovers themselves. Thanks, Chef John!

Nayana Farias said...

The recipe truly looks great! In my country, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving though.
Chef John, can i let the batter in fridge overnight to prepare the crepes in the morning, or i must do it after an hour in fridge? Thanks!

Chef John said...

Next day ok! Thanks!

Unknown said...

Made this for dinner tonight using leftover Christmas turkey... it was awesome! We've been eating sandwiches and soup for a few days and this Italian style recipe really changed things up :-) I especially liked the crepe part of this recipe... I will use this for other recipes too. Thank you Chef John!
You have opened up a whole new way of making rolled up things! Thanks :-)

Anonymous said...

I made this today for my family with poached chicken breast instead of left-over turkey. Everything came out well, except it needed salt badly. I watched the video again to see what I may have done wrong, and I noticed that you included salt in the filling but it's not on the ingredients list. I (wrongly) assumed the parmessan would be enough salt, and even tasted the filling before using it -- I should have tasted it before adding the parsley, though, because I couldn't taste for salt over its flavor.

Anyway -- lovely recipe, just make sure you salt the filling! I'd guess 1/2 to 1 tsp depending on your taste. I'll definitely make this one again!

Thanks Chef John!

SteveBass said...

Chef John, my late cousin had a crepe recipe that tasted like pasta as opposed to a crepe. But when she passed away, the recipe went along with her. Could you tell me what is the difference in ingredients and proportions between a "crepe" vs. a "pasta" recipe? Thank you in advance...

Chef John said...

Sorry, I can't. Unless it's a real pasta dough, everything else is a crepe batter. Some have more/less egg and flour but everyone's is different.

SteveBass said...

So, since it had more of a "noodle-like" taste, would it be safe to say that her recipe probably called for less eggs in the mixture? Thank you, Chief John..

Unknown said...

Surprised you didnt call for black pepper in the cheese mix.

Unknown said...

Surprised you didn't call for black pepper in the cheese mix. Any reason?