Lighter manicotti gets extra fiber from spinach

Q. Dear Recipe Doctor, I need to know how to lighten this manicotti. I know it sounds quite fattening. It’s a crowd-pleaser and there’s no way to get out of eating one.

A. I’m always looking for meatless dinner entrees because I like to serve nonmeat dinners a few times a week at least. This recipe fits the bill with a nice ricotta cheese filling topped with a mushroom white sauce. If the white sauce is a bit too much work for you, just substitute 3 cups of bottled marinara sauce. When I tested the light version of this recipe, I topped half of the manicotti with some of the mushroom white sauce and half with some bottled marinara so everyone had two choices. My teen girls ate the marinara topped manicotti while my husband had the white sauce option. I, of course, had to sample both so I could tell you with confidence that both toppings work very well.

We cut the fat in half and reduced the calories by 100 a serving by making the mushroom white sauce with 11/2 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 cups of fat-free half and half (or lowfat milk) instead of half a stick of butter, some half-and-half cream and some whole milk. I also cut the Parmesan cheese in half because 11/2 cup seemed like overkill for the sauce.

The first thing I did with the filling was add some chopped spinach. I’m always looking for ways to punch up the fiber and nutrients and this seemed like a colorful way to do that. And I was right because the spinach looked and tasted like it belonged in there. The spinach/cheese filling was made with part-skim ricotta and mozzarella instead of whole milk varieties and 1 egg plus ½ cup egg substitute was added instead of 3 eggs.

The original recipe contains 452 calories, 24 grams of fat, 14 grams saturated fat, and 167 milligrams cholesterol per manicotti.

Creamy Spinach Manicotti

If you want to skip the white sauce, just top the manicotti with 3 cups of bottled marinara sauce before baking.

13-ounce package fresh lasagna sheets (or similar)

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil (for boiling pasta)

White sauce:

11/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced sweet onion

4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms (regular mushrooms can be used)

1/4 cup Wondra quick-mixing flour (regular can be used)

3 cups fat free half-and-half (lowfat milk can be used)

3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Black pepper to taste

For the filling:

1 pound part-skim or lowfat ricotta cheese

1 box frozen spinach (8-10 ounces) thawed and gently pressed to eliminate excess water

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley (or 2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes)

1 large egg, beaten

1/2 cup egg substitute

2 teaspoons minced garlic

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with canola cooking spray. Bring a large saucepan of water, about 4 inches deep, to boil. Add canola oil and lasagna sheets and cook, according to the directions on the package, until just tender. Drain well and rinse in cold water. Lay lasagna sheets out on jellyroll pan to cool.

Add olive oil to large nonstick frying pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and mushroom slices and sauté until mushrooms are lightly browned. Meanwhile, add 1/4 cup of flour to 4-cup measure and stir in 1/2 cup of the fat-free half-and-half to make a thin paste. Then stir in the remaining fat-free half-and-half.

When mushrooms are lightly browned, add in the half-and-half mixture and the shredded Parmesan and stir until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook and stir until nicely thickened (a few minutes); set aside. Add pepper to taste.

Add all of the filling ingredients (spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, Romano, parsley, egg, egg substitute, minced garlic) to a mixing bowl and stir to blend well.

Depending on how large your lasagna sheet is, you may need to cut them into two pieces each. Lay a 5-by-5-inch pasta sheet on a plate, add 1/3 cup of the filling and shape the filling so it is along one of the edges. Roll up like an enchilada and place in prepared baking dish.

Repeat with remaining pasta sheets and filling. Cover the tops with the mushroom white sauce and bake until manicotti is hot throughout and sauce is bubbling, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Yield: About 10 manicotti

Approximate nutrition per manicotti (with white sauce): 360 calories, 12 grams fat (5.7 grams saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 25 grams protein, 39 grams carbohydrate, 75 milligrams cholesterol, 4 grams dietary fiber, 420 milligrams sodium.

Weight Watchers POINTS = 7