Tomato and Cream Manicotti

Prepare Ingredients: Peel and chop the onions and all the garlic. Shred the parmesan. Thinly slice the spinach.
Prepare the Tomato Sauce: Heat a pot over medium-high heat and add in a small amount of oil. Add the onion and sauté for several minutes until it is soft and translucent. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Add the red wine and cook and stir until it is almost evaporated. Add the crushed tomatoes and Italian seasoning and and bring to a slow simmer over medium-low heat. Cook, uncovered for 30-60 minutes to reduce it down and cook out any acidity from the tomatoes. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool slightly before blending until very smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and add as much as needed.
Prepare the Béchamel Sauce: Heat a pot over medium heat and add a small amount of oil. Add the onion and sauté for several minutes until it is translucent and soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the white wine and cook and stir until it is almost evaporated. Add the butter and flour and cook and stir for 2-3 minutes making sure the flour doesn't turn brown. Add the half and half and milk then bring to a slow simmer over low heat. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from the heat and place in a blender with the parmesan cheese. Blend until very smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and add as much as needed.
Prepare the Crepe: Put all the ingredients for the crepes into a blender and blend until smooth. Take a 9 inch, non-stick pan and heat for 3-4 minutes over medium low heat. Spray in a small amount of oil or use a paper towel to wipe some oil around the pan. Pour in 1/3 cup of the batter into the pan and quickly swirl it around to cover the entire bottom of the pan. Cook for about 45-60 seconds per side and flip once. The goal is to create a crepe that has not been browned but is cooked all the way through. Stack all the crepes on top of each other as you cook them. Once you have finished cooking all the crepes, use a sharp knife to cut off two, opposite sides of the crepe creating a rectangle with two ends that are rounded (see below). This will give you very even and beautiful manicotti when you assemble them in step 6. If you need a visual, please see the image at the bottom of the recipe.
Prepare the Cheese Filling: Preheat the oven to 350°. Mix all the ingredients together including the chopped spinach from step 1.
Assemble and Bake: To assemble, put an equal amount of the cheese mixture into each of the crepes. Roll them up tight and place them into a 9x13 inch pan with the seam side down. cover the pan with foil and place into the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. This will allow the manicotti to steam a little bit which keeps everything soft and moist.
Serve: To serve, put an equal amount of both sauces on opposite sides of a plate and tilt the plate slightly to allow the sauces to run together. Place 2 manicotti onto the sauces and, optionally, top with a small amount of additional parmesan cheese and thinly sliced basil.
Meal Prep Tip: This dish keeps well in the fridge for 3-5 days. Store the manicotti and each of the sauces in separate containers. Reheat and then assemble as described above. If you run out of filling and end up with any leftover crepes, you can freeze these or fill them with Nutella and bananas for dessert!

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