Creamy Chicken Manicotti

By jkenb

Ingredients

• 8 dried manicotti shells
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 6-ounces chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup chopped cooked ham
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1-1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
• Freshly ground nutmeg (optional)
• Snipped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain and set aside.
2. Chop chicken into fine pieces and cook until done.
3. For sauce, in a medium saucepan cook onion in hot butter over medium heat 4 minutes or until tender but not brown. Stir in flour and salt. Add milk all at once. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat; set aside.
4. For filling, in a medium bowl combine chicken, ham, egg yolk, the 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese, and the ricotta cheese. Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce into a buttered 2-quart rectangular baking dish; spread in a thin layer over bottom of dish.
5. Use a pastry tube fitted with the largest tip to pipe the filling into cooked manicotti. (Or carefully spoon about 1/3 cup of filling into each shell.) Arrange filled manicotti in baking dish in a single layer. Pour remaining sauce over manicotti. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese over the sauce.
6. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes or until manicotti are light golden and heated through. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving. If desired, garnish with a sprinkling of ground nutmeg and parsley.