- Basta pasta means enough pasta in Italian.

But you know, I can never get enough, I just love pasta.

And one could argue it's the best candidate for a weeknight meal, cuz it's so quick and easy.

And you know what you can really dress it up to make something elegant.

I'm gonna show you today.

First, pasta with seafood.

It's prepared the proper way when Dave Pasternack of New York's fish mecca Esca joins us.

David will try to improve my fishing skills before we move to the kitchen to make his fettuccini with rock shrimp.

It's got fresh corn and it's so tasty.

And on Ask Sara I'll answer viewers questions about ricotta cheese and then, I've got some pasta tricks of my own.

Spicy greens and ravioli.

You think you can't make ravioli on a weeknight?

Well, yes you can with my secret ingredient.

Elegant pasta on a weeknight.

I'm Sara Moulton, that's up next on Sara's Weeknight Meals.

(cheerful instrumental music) - [Voiceover] Funding provided by, - [Voiceover] Family owned and Indiana grown Maple Leaf Farms is a proud sponsor of Sara's Weeknight Meals.

Providing a variety of duck products for home kitchens.

Maple Leaf Farms duck helps inspire culinary adventures everywhere.

Maple Leaf Farms.

- [Voiceover] Subaru builds vehicles like the versatile Subaru Forester with symmetrical all-wheel drive and plenty of cargo room.

A recipe made for whatever the day brings.

Subaru, a proud sponsor of Sara's Weeknight Meals.

- [Voiceover] And thanks to the generous support of... - So you went fishing with this guy.

- Yeah he had a 48 foot boat.

- [Voiceover] Today my friend Chef Dave Pasternack promised me a fising lesson before we go back to the kitchen to cook.

- You promise you wont laugh?

- I won't.

- [Sara] OK. - [Dave] That's good you did good - [Sara] Now what?

- [Dave] Let it go, let it go.

- [Voiceover] Not only is he one of the top seafood chefs in the city, he grew up fishing on Long Island.

- [Sara] Should I get out of the way, are you gonna hook me?

- [Dave] No I'm not gonna hook ya.

- [Voiceover] So we'll see if the fish are biting today.

- [Sara] I don't think anything's happening.

- [Dave] They always say you gotta be in it to win it.

- Dave (laughs) I was goin' the wrong way.

- [Dave] It's ok. Oh look you got something, you got a little weed.

- [Sara] (laughs) I felt something but now I don't.

I could see why this is very zen.

- [Dave] C'mon fishies.

- [Sara] C'mon fishies.

- [Dave] Yeah well we gave it a good shot.

- We did.

Oh well you know what, we didn't catch any fish but that really was fun.

- [Dave] It was fun.

- [Sara] Thank you.

- [Dave] You're welcome.

- It's your last meal, there's only one fish you can have.

What would it be?

- To catch it'd be a bluefin tuna.

To eat it it'd probably be a sea bass.

- [Sara] And how would it be prepared?

- Just baked in the oven, either in salt or just with some olive oil, lemon.

- [Sara] That's it?

- [Dave] That's it.

- [Sara] How bout, why the bluefin tuna to catch?

- [Dave] There's nothin' like it.

- [Sara] Really?

They're big.

- It's like reelin' in a Volkswagen going - [Sara] (laughs) - [Dave] Actually, a Volkswagen goin' 50 miles an hour.

- [Sara] Have you ever caught one?

- [Dave] I have.

- And how big?

- [Dave] It was about 400 pounds.

- [Sara] (gasping) Do I believe you?

- Absolutely.

It's the first picture you see when you walk in my house.

(upbeat instrumental music) - We're back in the kitchen with master chef Dave Pasternack who I'm gonna call the fish whisperer.

And we're gonna be making incredible fettuchni dish with rock shrimp, corn and jalapeno.

- You just stuck your finger in there.

- I was checking the-- - Don't do that at home.

- I was checking the salt.

- OK and how salty should it be?

- Like sea water.

- Really.

Because otherwise you can't flavor it later on.

- Otherwise you can't flavor it later.

- You open that.

That's a pound of dried fettuchini.

OK, you want this right in here?

- Sure, right in there.

These are rock shrimp.

Rock shrimp is a product that mostly comes out of Florida.

It's a wild caught product.

Gonna season the rock shrimp up pretty good.

Right?

And we gotta-- - Before you ever cook them.

- Before we ever cook them.

- That's interesting.

And why do you do that?

- Because I wanna cook some of the flavor into the shrimp with the seasoning.

- [Sara] You want me to slice you some jalapeno?

- [Dave] We're gonna slice up the jalapeno.

- OK. And we've taken out the ribs and seeds so it's just, - [Dave] Take out the ribs and seeds.

- Now do you want me to cut some of this corn off the cob?

- Yep we're gonna cut some of the corn off we're gonna add the jalapeno, right.

- [Sara] Is that enough?

- [Dave] You like spicy?

- [Sara] I love spicy.

- [Dave] So we'll add everything that you cut, right, and we're gonna cook that right in here with the shrimp.

We have a nice high flame cuz we want it to cook pretty quickly.

We just gonna wilt down the jalapeno, right.

That's good we got plenty of corn.

We're gonna add our fresh shucked corn, raw.

And we're gonna add a little bit more seasoning at this particular point.

We wanna be careful, cuz we're gonna use a little bit of the pasta water, - to help make the sauce.

- [Sara] That's very Italian isn't it?

- Very Italian.

- Now that's gorgeous already.

- Quite colorful.

Let me add a little shot more oil.

- This seems to be a theme here.

- Which is gonna also help our sauce.

Cuz now you see the shrimp and the corn have given off some juice and that oil's gonna help it emulsify up a little.

- [Sara] And all come together.

- So what we have here is, we're gonna finish the pasta, is we have a little bit of arugula.

Just gonna coarsely chop it.

We're gonna wait til we washed it and I'm gonna add this in when I add the spaghetti.

- [Sara] So, now you have this great book, It's called The Young Man & the Sea.

- [Dave] Yes - [Sara] And I have to complement you cuz the recipes are really perfect for the home cook.

They're just so accessible and easy.

Is this recipe in there?

- [Dave] This recipe is actually in the book.

- And I think that's how you cook, both at home and in the restaurant.

Is that done yet?

- It needs another minute or two.

If you break it open you can see that it's still a little raw on the inside.

- A little raw, so it's like that little white strip on the inside.

- [Dave] A little white strip.

- [Sara] And you don't want it to be cooked all the way through you want to see a little tiny bit of that white.

- We want it to be al dente, as they say, to the tooth.

- [Sara] To the tooth.

- [Dave] Right, you know.

For me the pasta's good now.

- [Sara] So that was the pasta cooking liquid which is gonna have some starch from the pasta.

- [Dave] It's gonna have a little bit of starch.

I'm gonna reserve a little bit at the end in case we need a little bit more.

But right now if you try the pasta It still has a nice tooth to it but it's at that moment where it's ready to go.

- [Sara] That's me getting a nice facial.

- [Dave] Gonna let it drain a little bit.

I got this, you give that a nice good stir.

- I will.

So the idea is that we're finishing cooking the pasta in the liquid and it will sort of absorb the flavors.

- [Dave] Yep.

- [Sara] By doing this, as opposed to finish cooking it and dumping the sauce on top, we're marrying the two.

- Exactly, everything is gonna become part of each other.

- [Sara] Wow, that gets an A+ in visuals too.

- [Dave] It's real colorful.

Now we're gonna cook it we're gonna dry it up a little bit.

We're gonna let that arugula wilt in there and it's gonna be perfect.

- [Sara] Alright, cheese?

- Absolutely not.

- (laughs) OK, somehow I knew you were gonna say that.

- You don't mix the cheese with the fish.

- [Sara] And what's that all about?

- The saltiness of the cheese overpowers the saltiness of the sea.

- [Sara] Alright.

- [Dave] We're gonna turn the fire off.

- [Sara] OK. - We're gonna, little bit of the good raw stuff at the end.

- Always you finish with olive oil?

- Always, always.

It does a couple things, one, it adds that great flavor, see how it added nice shine to it?

- [Sara] Also at this point the pasta might stick together so it's probably good for serving purposes.

- It shouldn't stick together if you cooked it correctly you should have cooked all the starch out of it.

- [Sara] Uh huh, and that's why we used a big pot of water.

OK I'm gonna be wearing this, don't look.

Mmm, wow, mmm, it's hot but, mmm, it really I taste the corn, - Really taste that flavor of the corn.

- Oh my god, yeah, it is the first thing that got me was corn.

- [Dave] Absolutely.

- [Sara] Which makes me very happy.

- And then you get a little bit of the heat, the jalapenos, not super spicy.

- Perfect, I'd actually add more, but that is terrific.

- [Dave] I would add a little bit more too.

- OK so as I said before, this fettuchini and rock shrimp recipe is perfect for a weeknight meal.

Because we just put it together from scratch.

- Boom, boom, boom, 10 minutes.

- I think we need to eat some more, don't you?

So I've got another question for Ask Sara today.

I've got Bill from Mount Vernon, NY.

So, Bill I understand you've got a question for me.

- I do.

I am marrying into an Italian Portugese family and at the heart of the family is the very Italian grandmother.

So I always like to impress her and my fiancee and the entire family so I was wondering if you had any recipes that I could use.

- Oh I do, this is such an impressive one.

It's homemade ricotta.

Well actually it's ricotta style cheese, but nobody will know the difference after you've made it.

And it's really simple all you need is whole milk and a little heavy cream and some acid.

Takes no time at all.

And that would really wow 'em cuz it's so delicious when you make it fresh.

Here, take a look at this tape and this will tell you how to do it.

- Alright, great.

- Here's what goes into the cheese.

Four ingredients.

I've already got a quart of milk in there.

I'm now gonna add a half a cup of heavy cream, a little bit of salt, like a quarter teaspoon would be good, and that's kosher salt.

Now we're gonna bring this up somewhat slowly to a full rolling boil.

Stir it so it doesn't scorch on the bottom, cuz that can happen with dairy products.

Now you may be wondering, why is she using such a deep pan for so little liquid.

It's because when the milk boils, I don't know if this has ever happened for you, it comes up and goes over the top.

We don't want that to happen.

I've got my lemons down here that I nuked.

It's my favorite way to get the juice out.

And we want about a tablespoon and a half, or two tablespoons of lemon juice.

(mellow music) Out of this whole recipe, with all that milk, and all that cream you only end up with about a cup of ricotta.

But, oh boy, it is the best ricotta you will ever taste.

And you made it.

OK, so let that come up to a boil.

You just have to be patient.

Alright, as soon as you start to see it come up stir in the lemon juice.

And turn it down.

OK, you see what happens?

Look at that, doesn't it look awful (laughing).

But that's what you want it to look like.

You're seeing the curds.

Now we just let it simmer for a minute and then we're gonna strain it.

If you get no curds, add more lemon juice.

I've set up a very deep bowl here.

It's lined with a strainer that's lined with some cheesecloth.

You could certainly use just a dampened paper towel if you wanted to, that would be fine too.

Now we're gonna let this drain for about 10 or 15 minutes.

The longer you drain it, the tighter it gets, the more structure it has.

If you eat it right away it's very, very creamy and soft.

Right now you can see what it's like.

See it's very, very soft.

I think I'm only gonna give this like five more minutes.

Cuz it's draining so quickly.

Let me go get my garlic.

I'm gonna mash it up cuz I'm gonna flavor it with a little mashed garlic.

You could leave the garlic out but I just think it's a nice addition.

And when you roast garlic like this, in foil in an oven, it just gets so wonderfully, whoops it is hot, so wonderfully creamy, and sort of sweet.

It's not that intense garlic.

Which you know, some people it's just too much.

Just really nice.

Just gonna cut it half so I can squeeze it out.

I could have roasted it ahead of time and cooled it off.

Which would have made my life much easier than using my asbestos fingers here.

So I'm gonna add that to here.

But before I do I just wanna pause and show you, look at all that liquid.

There's some more still coming out of it.

You can use that liquid in baking, sort of where you would have used milk.

You don't have to throw it out.

OK, here it comes.

Plop this right into the bowl with our garlic.

Wow.

This ricotta will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.

It's fresh, so eat it while it's fresh.

So Will, what do you think, do you think you could do that?

- Yeah that was very easy.

- Yeah, one little thing I want to mention, that if it doesn't curdle right away you can add a little extra lemon juice, that works.

- [Bill] Oh that's a great tip.

- [Sara] Yeah.

That's gonna get gramma.

She's gonna like that one, yeah.

- [Bill] Thank you.

- Congrats.

Have a wonderful time.

Where are you going on your honeymoon?

- Italy.

- Ah, perfect, perfect.

Ok well have a glass of chianti for me.

- You got it, thank you.

- OK, alright, bye Bill.

- Bye.

- If you wanna ask me more questions just send them to me at saramoulten.com.

(relaxed music) I've got some girlfriends coming over to eat today and I'm gonna make them one of my favorite recipes from my new cookbook.

It is bitter greens ravioli with cheese.

And it's vegetarian.

I don't know why I'm just cooking so much vegetarian these days.

I just love vegetables, isn't that nice?

And hey, you know, it's healthy.

So, I'm starting with my bitter greens and I've got quite an assortment here.

I need nine cups chopped.

So let me just show you, this is a wonderful thing to have in your kitchen it's an eight cup measuring cup.

And yes it's for liquid and I'm putting solid in there but this isn't rocket science so the fact that I've got nine cups of greens in a liquid measure doesn't matter.

But let me get 'em cooking and then I'll tell you what I'm cooking.

And we're gonna use the liquid from the greens to make the sauce.

Ok let me get some oil into the pan so we need about three tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, this is Mediterranean.

So, what I have here is mustard green, these are very peppery I love 'em.

This is rainbow chard which isn't all that strong.

You take out the rib.

I just love this, this is watercress, but you see how tender it is?

I'm not even gonna bother chopping that.

Oh, and arugula, it's just, it's intense.

OK, I think that's good, I'm gonna get these guys in here.

We're just gonna wilt 'em down.

(sizzling) Ah yes, that's the sound you wanna hear.

Add a little more, takes no time at all.

So I'm gonna season as I go.

And some pepper.

This is almost done, see how quickly it goes down?

I'm gonna squeeze it cuz we don't wanna put a wet filling in our ravioli.

The wet filling would make the ravioli get soggy and break.

We're gonna let this drain until it's cool enough for me to really squeeze it.

And I've got this cool tip to show you about how to get all that liquid out.

So, as I said this is Italian.

We're gonna be putting into the filling some ricotta cheese, homemade if you wanna make it.

It's really fun and pretty easy.

And then we're gonna also add some pecorino-romano.

We need about three tablespoons, and I'm gonna use my microplane here.

So there's that, and, OK, let me see how we're doing with this.

Yeah, I think I could start squeezing this.

So this here, you probably know it as a potato ricer.

It's like a giant garlic press.

And it's just the best way to get liquid out of greens.

And then just watch this.

Brilliance, right?

Isn't that amazing?

Greens are, they're all water.

When you think about it, most of the tools in your kitchen have so many more uses than you even know.

Now why am I saving this liquid you ask, because it's got tons of flavor in it, and since this is a vegetarian recipe I could use vegetable stock, but why should I use vegetable stock when I've got this fantastic tasting liquid from the vegetables that I just cooked.

Do you believe that was nine cups of greens?

It's just so amazing.

OK, so this is what I was looking for.

I have my greens, I have my juice, and I'm gonna get my cheese.

I need a quarter cup, plus two tablespoons of ricotta, homemade or store bought, full fat or low fat is fine.

And then my three tablespoons of pecorino.

I'm gonna just bring this and add it right from here.

Oh, you know I did way too much.

I can't help myself, I'm a cheese-aholic.

Boy I don't know what I would do if I found out I was lactose intolerant.

OK, so now nutmeg, now nutmeg is a classic, let me just wipe off my hands.

with spinach, but it goes very nicely with other greens as well.

But a little goes a long way.

And it really just grates so nicely.

So I'm gonna stir this up and give it a taste, and see if I've got something I like.

And then I can start stuffing.

And the cheeses cool it down enough so I think we'll be fine.

Let me get a fork.

Now you could make the filling ahead of time but I wouldn't stuff the wrappers ahead of time because they will just get too soggy even though we just squeezed everything out of here.

That is delicious.

Oh that is so fresh.

Mmm!

Oh my friends are gonna be so happy.

OK, so, I have my filling, let me get my wrappers out.

Now wonton wrappers, these are the square ones, this is nothing more than fresh Chinese pasta.

You can get 'em square you can get 'em round.

You could make round ones too if you want.

I like the square ones because you can get more filling into them than the round ones.

The round ones just aren't as big.

They dry out really quickly.

Oh by the way, where you find them, is in the refrigerated section.

You also can find them in the freezer.

And you work with a few at a time.

You want roughly a heaping tablespoon per wanton.

What I'm using to seal the wrappers is some egg white.

It's my glue.

So I'm brushing the edges.

This is really the most important thing is making sure they're well sealed.

OK you put the top wrapper on, and you squish it on one side, and then you try to press all the air out.

And then you pick it up and be aggressive.

Make sure it is so well sealed.

Now if I wasn't gonna cook these right away I would put plastic wrap and a damp towel on top so they don't dry out.

(cheerful music) OK, so here we go, if there's a lot of flour in the bottom just dust it off.

And these take about four or five minutes, and you know what's interesting is usually homemade pasta or fresh pasta doesn't take that long but this is double thickness.

Keep in mind that we've got two wonton wrappers sandwiched together so it takes a little longer.

And how you know when they're done is you take one out and you just cut off an edge, you know so you don't let the filling out, and taste it.

And if it tastes just perfectly cooked, just al dente, then out it comes.

See this one opened, he's not going in, cuz that would go all over.

And if it does, you know as Julia Childs says, "never apologize, never explain," that everything's exactly the way it's meant to be.

Cuz people are so happy that you're making dinner and they're not.

Ok, so let me give it a little stir.

And while that's gently cooking I'm gonna tidy up, OK. (upbeat music) Alright, remember that liquid I saved?

This goes into this pan, and, look at that beautiful color.

The ravioli, and I'm not gonna drain them really well cuz we want some of that cooking liquid.

Alright, they go right into here.

Just to heat up and finish, we're gonna add butter.

Oh what the heck let me put some butter in right now.

We've got two tablespoons and it will melt in the sauce.

OK, oh there's one guy that's sticking to the bottom.

OK, turning it off and I'm ready to plate.

And I've got my friends coming over so I wanna make sure it looks really beautiful.

This is a nice thing to make for somebody.

You know, how often do you get, I mean I don't have to tell them I didn't make the pasta.

I just bought the wonton wrappers.

But how often do you get homemade pasta.

I mean really.

You expect to find that in a restaurant.

I actually think three is quite a lot.

And I'm gonna tip the sauce and put it on.

And then down here, that is not all, there's always many layers.

We have more of the pecorino and just some chopped toasted walnuts, which finish it off nicely.

Another nut that would be great in here would be pistachios or pine nuts.

OK we're good to go, I'm gonna go out and see if my friends are here.

So ladies, dig in.

This is a vegetarian dish just for you Missy.

- [Missy] Oh it's perfect.

- It's bitter greens, an assortment, with ricotta and pecorino.

You know I have a secret ingredient here it's wonton wrappers that's the pasta.

I did not make the pasta.

I know you'd like to think I've been slaving here, but I did not.

- [Missy] No you would never know.

- [Sara] I didn't.Thank you for joining me.

- [Missy] Thanks for having us.

- [Sara] Let's have a little toast.

To lovely gardens.

- [Rita] Yes - [Missy] Cheers - [Rita] And wine.

- [Sara] And wine, yes, and wonderful ravioli.

And thank you all for joining me.

I'm here with Rita and Missy and you can see that fancy pasta is not beyond you if it's not beyond me.

I'll see you next time for some more of Sara's Weeknight Meals.

So now I can't believe that I heard that you played ice hockey.

- [Rita] Yes, ma'am I started a women's ice hockey team.

- You started it?

- I did, and played for 15 years.

- What town?

- In Stanford, the Stanford Stampede.

And we had our crosstown rivals, the New Canaan Motherpuckers - [Sara] Aha - [Rita] Can I say that?

- Yes that's wonderful.

Wow.

- Great career.

- Was it serious or was it just fun?

- No, no, no it was serious.

We competed.

Yes we traveled and played against men, played with men, good times.

- [Voiceover] Sara's Weeknight Meals continues online.

For recipes, helpful tips, messages and lots more visit us on the web at saramoulton.com/weeknightMeals.

And go to our youtube channel Sara's Weeknight Meals TV.

Funding provided by, - [Voicover] Family owned and Indiana grown, Maple Leaf Farms is a proud sponsor of Sara's Weeknight Meals.

Providing a variety of duck products for home kitchens.

Maple Leaf Farms duck helps inspire culinary adventures everywhere.

Maple Leaf Farms.

- [Voiceover] Subaru builds vehicles like the versatile Subaru Forester.

With symmetrical all-wheel drive, and plenty of cargo room.

A recipe made for whatever the day brings.

Subaru, a proud sponsor of Sara's Weeknight Meals.

- [Voiceover] And thanks to the generous support of...