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