No. 147

Raviole Paste

Pate a Raviole

Lay a pound of sifted flour on the table, form a hollow in the center and in it place one ounce of salt, four eggs, two ounces of butter and a little tepid water.

Another proportion is one pound of flour, one ounce of salt, two eggs, one ounce of butter, two heaping tablespoonfuls of grated parmesan and a little tepid water. The paste should be soft, yet not too firm, knead it well to have it smooth, lay it on a board, cover with a cloth and let it rest in a cool place for one hour, then roll out and finish making the ravioles.

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For the Modern Kitchen

Ranhofer's ravioli dough is a straightforward egg pasta, but two things in it will trip up a modern cook: the salt is very heavy by today's standards, and the hydration is left entirely to your judgment.

The salt is the one thing to changeAn ounce of salt to a pound of flour is roughly two tablespoons — several times what current pasta practice uses, and enough to make the dough taste harsh and to slow gluten development. One to two teaspoons per pound is the usual modern figure, particularly if the filling and the sauce are seasoned.
Weights, not cupsA pound of flour runs somewhere between about 3½ and 4 cups depending on how it is measured, and this recipe calls for it sifted, which makes the cup lighter still; weigh it, since pasta dough is unforgiving of a heavy cup. Two ounces of butter is half a stick, one ounce a quarter stick.
"A little tepid water"Genuinely ambiguous. Four eggs and a pound of flour is already close to a workable dough; add water a tablespoon at a time until the mass just coheres. The second formula, with only two eggs, will need noticeably more.
Two formulas, two purposesThe four-egg version is richer and rolls thinner without tearing. The two-egg version with parmesan is firmer and more assertive in flavor — better where the filling is mild.
"Soft, yet not too firm"Aim for a dough that feels like firm modeling clay: it should take a thumbprint but not stick to the hand. Underhydrated pasta dough is the commonest fault; it will crack at the edges when rolled.
The rest is not optionalThe hour under a cloth lets the flour hydrate fully and the gluten relax, which is what makes the sheet roll thin instead of springing back. A cool place means a cool room or the refrigerator; if refrigerated, let it come back toward room temperature before rolling.
RollingFor filled pasta, roll to about 1mm — thin enough to read type through. On a machine that is generally the second-thinnest setting. Keep the sheets you are not working with covered, since this dough skins over quickly.
YieldA pound of flour makes roughly 1½ to 1¾ pounds of dough, enough for six to eight servings of ravioli depending on how generously they are filled.

A Little History

The Epicurean (1894) is Charles Ranhofer's summation of his long tenure as chef at Delmonico's in New York, and this entry sits in his Elementary Methods — the section of building blocks he expected a professional kitchen to have on hand rather than a dish in itself. That ravioli appears at all is worth noting: Ranhofer gives the name in the French spelling raviole and the recipe under the French heading pâte.