Ravioles du Dauphiné (English: "Dauphiné ravioli"), also known as ''Ravioles de Romans'' ("Ravioli of Romans"), are a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

regional speciality , similar to a very tiny

ravioli Ravioli (; : ''raviolo'', ) are a type of stuffed 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 ...

and consisting of two layers of pasta made out of soft wheat flour, eggs and water, surrounding a filling of Comté or French Emmental cheese,

faisselle Faisselle () is a non-protected French cheese made of raw milk from cows, goats, or sheep. The name comes from the mold in which the cheese is strained: . Production Faisselle is traditionally produced in the centre of France, but because its ...

made of cow's milk, butter and parsley. As the name suggests, they are usually associated with the historical region of

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

in South-Central France, particularly around the town of

Romans-sur-Isère Romans-sur-Isère (; ; Old Occitan: ''Romans'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Drôme Departments of France, department in southeastern France. Geography Romans-sur-Isère is located on the Isère (river), Isère, northeast of Valence, ...

in the department of

Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (; AURA) or ; or ; . is a Regions of France, region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into e ...

. 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, and non-food and unprocessed agricultural products such as flowers. Accord ...

in 1998 and is also protected by a PGI since 1989.

History

The first texts mentioning ''raviole'' date 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 (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

or other periods of fasting. The first mention of ''ravioles'' specifically from the town of

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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 1990s ''ravioles'' have also become available in supermarkets.

Geographical origin

Ravioles du Dauphiné are produced in

and more generally in the region of Royans overlapping the two departments of

and

Isère Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019.

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

Production and commercialisation

Around 2,500 tonnes of Ravioles were produced in 2005, which by 2007 had more than doubled to 5,103 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 ''Ravioles'' and ''Pognes'' (a large

doughnut A doughnut or donut () is a type of pastry 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 fran ...

shaped

brioche Brioche (, also , , ) is a bread of French origin whose high egg and butter content gives it a rich and tender crumb. Chef Joël Robuchon described it as "light and slightly puffy, more or less fine, according to the proportion of butter and e ...

which is another local specialty) festival held in the town of

every September, or at the traditional ''Raviole'' Festival of Eymeux.

Gastronomy

''Ravioles'' can be poached in hot water or grilled in a frying pan, and then served in meat broth, in a gratin or as part of a 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

References

Bibliography

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

External links

Raviole du Dauphiné
site of the

Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité The Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (; INAO; previously Institut National des Appellations d'Origine) is the French organization charged with regulating French agricultural products with protected designation of origin (PDOs). It ...

(INAO) {{DEFAULTSORT:Raviole Du Dauphine Cuisine of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes French cuisine Food and drink in France