Ravioles du Dauphiné

This dish is the French version of ravioli – a cheese-filled pasta originating from the Dauphiné region, which is very close to Italy’s border. Serve with crisp sage leaves, browned butter and a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano for a great vegetarian dish to share with friends.

Credit: Kitti Gould

• serves

  2

• prep

  1 hour

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 12 prepared ravioli, to serve
• 10 g salt
• 50 g butter
• 5 sage leaves
• Black pepper, to serve

For the pasta dough (makes 300 g)

• 120 g spinach
• 70 g whole egg
• 160 g 00 flour
• 40 g semolina, plus extra for dusting

For the filling (makes 600 g)

• 400 g ricotta
• 100 g finely grated Comté cheese
• 2 eggs
• 50 g finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano (aged 36 months), plus extra to serve
• 1 pinch finely grated nutmeg

Chilling time: 1 hour.

Instructions

1. To make the pasta dough, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Prepare a bowl of iced water. Add the spinach and cook for a few seconds until just wilted, then transfer to a bowl of iced water to cool. Remove the spinach and squeeze out any excess liquid. In the bowl of a food processor, combine 26 g cooked spinach with the egg. Blitz until smooth. Add the flour and semolina and blitz to a smooth pasta dough. Remove from the food processor, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour before using.
   
2. To make the filling, drain the ricotta of any excess liquid in a fine mesh strainer, then combine with the remaining ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl, mixing until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag.
   
3. Divide the rested pasta dough into 3-4 smaller portions and lightly dust each portion with extra semolina to prevent from sticking. Gently flatten a portion of dough, then feed it through the widest setting on your pasta machine. Fold the pasta in half and pass it through again. Gradually decrease the thickness on the setting of your pasta machine until the second last setting.
   
4. Dust a baking tray with extra semolina. Transfer the rolled dough to a lightly floured work surface. Pipe small mounds of your prepared filling along one half of the dough sheet, leaving at least 5 cm between each mound. Make sure the filling is placed on only one half of the pasta, so you have the other half to fold over. Fold the empty half of the dough over the filled half, gently pressing around each mound of filling to seal the ravioli, pinching to remove any excess air. Cut out each individual raviolo with a ravioli cutter, ensuring clean edges and a secure seal. Place 12 filled ravioli on the semolina-dusted baking tray.
   
5. Bring 1 litre of water to the boil in a large saucepan with 10 g salt. While the water comes to the boil, melt the butter in a large frying pan. Once the butter foams, add the sage leaves and cook until the butter is browned and the leaves are crisp. Add a generous pinch of pepper, then remove from the heat.
   
6. Boil the ravioli for 3 minutes, until they float and are cooked through, then drain (reserving 1 ladleful of pasta cooking water). Transfer the cooked pasta and reserved pasta water to the sage butter and return to the heat. Cook for 2 minutes, to warm the ravioli through, then remove from the heat. Transfer the Ravioles du Dauphiné and somoe sauce, to a large serving plate, garnish with the crispy sage and sprinkle with extra Parmigiano Reggiano.

Watch how to make this recipe on Episode 17 of Plat du Tour Season 6, streaming free on SBS On Demand. See Plat du Tour each night during coverage of the 2025 Tour de France.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.