Ravioles du Dauphiné (in English, 'Dauphiné ravioli'), also known as ''Ravioles de Romans'' ('Ravioli of Romans'), are a French regional speciality consisting of two layers of pasta made out of tender wheat flour, eggs and water, surrounding a filling of Comté or French Emmental cheese, cottage cheese made of cow's milk, butter and parsley, akin to Italian

ravioli Ravioli (; singular: ''raviolo'', ) are a type of pasta comprising a filling enveloped in thin pasta dough. Usually served in broth or with a sauce, they originated as a traditional food in Italian cuisine. Ravioli are commonly square, though o ...

or Russian pelmeni. As the name suggests, they are usually associated with the historical region of Dauphiné in South-Central France, particularly around the town of Romans-sur-Isère in the department of Drôme,

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

. The ''Ravioles du Dauphiné'' appellation has been legally protected since 1989, and received the

Label Rouge Label Rouge (''Red Label'') is a sign of quality assurance in France as defined by Law No. 2006-11 (5 January 2006). Products eligible for the Label Rouge are food items (including seafood) and non-food and unprocessed agricultural products such ...

in 1998, however is not an AOC as it makes use of ingredients such as Emmental and Comté which originate outside the Dauphiné region.

History

While ''ravioles'' have their origin in ancient Roman cuisine, the first mention of them dates from 1228. They were widely consumed in the Dauphiné region during the Middle Ages, filled with either meat or root vegetables. Meatless ''ravioles'' were often consumed either by poor people or around

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

or other periods of fasting. The first mention of ''ravioles'' specifically from the town of Romans dates from 1807, when the use of vegetables started to be replaced by cheese as the local population became more prosperous. By the 1960s, ''ravioles'' started to become produced on an industrial scale, with 100 tonnes of ''ravioles'' being produced annually by 1975. Since the 90s ''ravioles'' have also become available in supermarkets.

Geographical origin

Ravioles du Dauphiné are produced in Romans-sur-Isère and more generally in the region of Royans overlapping the two departments of Drôme and

Isère Isère ( , ; frp, Isera; oc, Isèra, ) is a landlocked department in the southeastern French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (ARA; ; frp, Ôvèrgne-Rôno-Ârpes; oc, Auvèrnhe Ròse Aups; it, Alvernia-Rodano-Alpi) is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Au ...

. Any eggs or creme cheese used in the making of ''ravioles'' must also come from this region.

Production and commercialisation

Around 2500 tonnes of Ravioles were produced in 2005, which by 2007 had more than doubled to 5103 tonnes. ''Ravioles'' are usually sold in plaques of 48 pieces, with each plaque weighing around 60-65 grams, and are often eaten in regional restaurants and notably during the Festival of ''Ravioles'' and ''Pognes'' (another local speciality roughly resembling a

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

) held in the town of Romans every September, or at the traditional ''Raviole'' Festival of Eymeux.

Gastronomy

''Ravioles'' can be prepared by poaching in hot water or grilled in a frying pan, then served in meat broth, in a gratin or with salad. Ravioles de Romans.jpg, Plaque of raw ravioles Ravioles - cuisson.jpg, Raviole bake Vinsobres Ravioles.jpg, Prepared ravioles Gratin de ravioles.jpg, Gratin de Ravioles Salade de ravioles.jpg, Ravioles with salad

Bibliography

*Laurent Jacquot
Société d'Etudes Historiques de Romans - Bourg de Péage
''Pour écrire l'histoire de la raviole'', Etudes Drômoises, 1996.

References

External links

*
Raviole du Dauphiné
site of the Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) {{DEFAULTSORT:Raviole Du Dauphine Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French cuisine Food and drink in France