Sunday, April 19, 2009

Ravioles du Royans


Ravioles…nope, I didn’t say Ravioli… I said RAVIOLES. What is the difference you ask? Well, as you know, Ravioli are traditional Italian stuffed pastas, either round or square. Ravioles du Royans are a specific dish; a speciality of the Dauphiné region in the Rhône Alpes in France. The concept is the same- stuffed pasta- but these ones are tiny and filled with a blend of cheeses and herbs.

These tiny parcels of rich goodness are the perfect cure to a long, hard day. Enjoy them with a little bit of chicken broth, tossed in salted butter, or kick them up with some cream and cheese “au gratin” style.

Now, you are probably wondering…”Are we about to make these tiny things?? They probably take ages to make!” Yes, they do take some time and patience, but once you get in the swing of things, it is quite easy and sooooooooo worth it. Plus you can make loads and freeze them for later.

But if you are not convinced, or you want to try them before you invest the time in making them, here are a few other options:
  1. Buy them and try! The brand we most commonly buy is “Reflets de France.” Depending on where you live, the cost of these little guys ranges and of course, you may not be able to find this brand. But in the view of my husband, these are the best.

  2.  Make them slightly larger (use the same filling, but use a large mold or just cut them to the size you like). Given, they won’t be exactly the same cute little ravioles, but they will be just as tasty
  3. Invest in a pasta machine with a ravioli maker. Haven’t tried it (I prefer doing everything by hand), but from the looks of these things, you just put the filling in one place and roll the pasta, and the pasta is stuffed for you.
But after you have tried all those options, nothing really is quite as satisfying as making them 100% by hand. Invest a couple hours doing it and you will have enough ravioles to last you for all those nights when you just couldn’t be bothered to spend more than a few minutes in the kitchen.

Try it. It’s worth it!

Ravioles du Royans
Makes about 6 dozen ravioles

For Dough
6 Eggs
600 grams Flour (I used a mix of 400 grams white and 200 grams fine WW and it was great!)


For Filling
160 grams Fresh Goat's Cheese
120 grams Parsley
250 grams Gruyere, grated
1/4 cup Butter
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
Salt
Pepper

To Make the Dough: 

In a bowl knead eggs and flour until a paste.

To Make the Filling:
Chop the parsley finely and then fry in a skillet with butter. - Remove from heat and add eggs, lots of pepper, goat cheese, grated Gruyère, salt. Mix well and put it through a mill/ pulse with blender if needed. Let stand a day in fridge.

Preparing the Ravioli: 

Roll out the dough to #1 setting on pasta machine. Use small ravioli mold (approximately 3/4 of an inch square)(must be well floured!!) to fill pockets with filling (only about a hazelnut size of filling). Place sheet of pasta over top and use rolling pin to seal edges and cut ravioli. Remove raviole from mold.
Cooking time: 
A few minutes in boiling, salted water or chicken broth

Serving Suggestions:
- Serve with chicken broth
- Drain and toss with salted butter (and top with freshly grated parmesan)
- Place in an oven proof dish, add some cream and grated cheese, and bake for about 15 minutes until bubbly and golden on top

10 comments:

  1. man, that filling sounds out of this world!!

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  2. They certainly sound like they are indeed worth the effort!

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  3. I live in Holland but come back to Paris (my hometown) twice a month, and guess what: on the way back to Holland, in my bag, there is always:
    - at least two bottles of red wine
    - loads of cheese
    - at least two raviole packs
    (and sometimes champagne)
    Because these are definitely the food/drink things I miss the most when I'm out of France

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  4. Can you tell me where I can buy this brand in london ?

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  5. yep those ravioles are the best... any clues where to find them in Manhattan?

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  6. yes, these are great. And in London and Manhattan, I bet you can find them in the grocery store. For sure if there is a French branded grocery store like Carrefour or Geant, you should be able to find them. Perhaps not this brand, but same concept. Outside of France, I have found them at Carrefour in Dubai. Otherwise, you will just have to make them!

    Good luck!

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  7. I've been looking for ravioles in Manhattan for 5 years. No luck so far so I bring them back from France and freeze them. They are also very good pan seared/fried right tout of the freezer. They develop some crunchiness and the cheese filing is all melted inside. j'ai faim.

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  8. You have my utmost respect for doing those from scratch!!! I so wish I could do the same... I guess I'd have to invest in a pasta machine first, though. Until then I just calm my frustration by eating some each time we go back to France!

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  9. They can be purchased in the USA from White Toque of New Jersey.

    http://whitetoque.com/catalog/category/view/s/pastas/id/75/?limit=9

    They fedex them to your door in a foam cooler with dry ice and have always been solidly frozen every time I've ordered from them - no problems ever; I even had some delivered to my daughter in Oregon. They're easier to break up into individual ravioles when frozen, so I break up a couple of packs into a bowl and then let them partially thaw for 15-30 minutes in the fridge before we're ready to eat. Remember to NEVER boil them, they'll disintegrate. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer and add the ravioles. They're done in about 2 minutes, when they float to the top. I just slather butter on them, salt & pepper.

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    1. Oh my goodness! That is awesome! Thanks for the tip! Anyone know of where you can get them in Canada? (although I am going to see if they can Fedex from the link above....)

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