Danny Freeman is a chef and content creator known for his pasta-loving take on everything from red sauce to ravioli, and his out of the box approach to Italian cuisine.
Freeman, who runs the Danny Loves Pasta social media accounts, began cooking pasta in the kitchen with his grandmother and quickly started getting creative with color, shape and size in each bite. His new book, "Danny Loves Pasta," will help you bring those same colorful and creative fresh pasta recipes to your own kitchen -- the pasta-bilities are endless!
Danny's Cookie Cutter Ravioli
Serves: 6-8
Total time: 50 minutes
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 5 mins
Ingredients:
1 batch filling of choice
1 batch pasta dough, any color
Semolina flour, for dusting
Ricotta and Pecorino Filling
Ingredients:
8 cups (1.9 liters) whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup (30 grams) grated pecorino Romano
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Directions
To make the ricotta, pour the milk into a large saucepan. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the temperature reaches 185 F (85 C) and the milk is just beginning to bubble, 10 to 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat. Leave the pan on the burner and stir in the vinegar. Let sit for 20 minutes without touching it. You'll notice that the milk quickly curdles (the solid curds separate from the liquid whey).
Meanwhile, line a colander with three layers of a cheesecloth, making sure that the cloth is large enough to hang off the edges. Place the colander in a large bowl.
Use a large slotted spoon to scoop the solid curds out of the pan and transfer them to the cheesecloth. Keep scooping until only the liquid whey remains in the pan (see Tip 1).
The ricotta is ready to eat right away, but it will be rather moist. Before you fill your pasta, let the ricotta drain for 20 to 30 minutes until it's no longer visibly wet (see Tip 2).
To make the filling, transfer the ricotta to a large bowl and add the pecorino, lemon juice, pepper, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt (see Tip 3). Give everything a good mix.
The filling should be cohesive but not runny, and you should be able to pick up a spoonful without it falling apart. If it's dry, stir in a spoonful of milk.
Weeknight Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
One 28-ounce (794-gram) can whole San Marzano or San Marzano-stvle tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for the pasta water
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1 small palmful basil (about 1/4 cup or 15 grams), finely chopped
1 pound (454 grams) pasta of choice
1/4 cup (30 grams) grated Parmesan, optional
Directions
Heat the oil in a wide saucepan or skillet over medium heat.
Add the garlic and cook until it just starts to brown, stirring occasionally, for 1 to 2 minutes, being careful not to let it burn.
Add the can of tomatoes, including the liquid, and the salt and stir everything together. If you want a little heat, add the red pepper flakes.
Lower the heat to medium-low and let simmer until you can crush the tomatoes easily with a fork, about 15 minutes.
Crush the tomatoes, mix them together, and taste the sauce. Add more salt if necessary.
Cook for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the basil.
Let simmer for 10 more minutes while you cook your pasta in salted, boiling water. If the sauce has started to dry out while the pasta is cooking, add a spoonful of pasta water along with the pasta. Combine the sauce and pastain a large bowl and serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top if desired.
Ravioli directions
Fill a piping bag with filling and cut an opening at the tip about 2 inches (1 centimeter) wide. If you don't have a piping bag, you can use a spoon.
Divide the dough into quarters and work with one piece at a time, leaving the rest covered so it doesn't dry out. Roll out a sheet of dough to the second- or third-thinnest setting on your pasta machine, or about 6 millimeters thick if rolling by hand.
Dust a cutting board with flour, then place the pasta sheet on top. Make a light imprint of the cookie cutter on the dough, without going all the way through. Repeat this over the entire sheet of dough.
Pipe filling into the middle of the outline of each shape. Do not overfill or get too close to the edges, or the filling will seep out when you cook it.
Use a brush, a paper towel or your finger to lightly brush water on the dough around the filling to help the two layers of the ravioli stick together.
Roll out another sheet of pasta dough and place it directly on top of the first layer. Press all around the filling to make sure the layers stick together and to remove any air bubbles.
Cut out the shapes by pressing down on the dough swiftly but firmly around each pile of filling with the cookie cutter, making sure the filling isn't too close to any of the edges. Remove the excess dough.
Inspect each ravioli and pinch together any loose parts around the edges.
Set the ravioli on a floured surface and continue with the rest of the dough.
I recommend cooking ravioli right away. If you leave it in the fridge, even just for a few hours, the filling can seep into the pasta and make it soggy. If you want to make ravioli ahead of time, place the pieces on a floured baking tray or cutting board and freeze them.
Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water in batches of 10 to 15, depending on the size of your pot. Cook each batch until tender, 2 to 5 minutes, then use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the ravioli. Repeat until all the pasta has been cooked.
