This is a fascinating, unique and delicious dish, that I first saw in Michel Roux Jr’s book The French Kitchen (which I highly recommend). Recipes in French abound on the web and are all different. However, trying to find some history on this dish was challenging. Regardless, it will wow your guests both visually and through their palates.
I tried to give the ravioles a bit of a flare in design, but just having them in a half-moon or round shape works well. Making this dish requires a good sense of mise en place. You want everything ready so you can cook, plate and serve. I suggest making the dough first, then the filling. These can be made the day before and refrigerated. Then make the ravioles, boil, dry, cover and refrigerate if necessary. Make the lobster stock as I describe and then make the sauce. Once the sauce is simmering for the 30 minutes you can set up to fry the ravioles. Once the sauce is thickened, fry the ravioles, plate and spoon on the hot sauce.
Ravioles de homard et St. Jacques
Described as a French "dim sum", this delicious dish is worth the effort.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 Cup King Arthur All Purpose Flour
- 2 ⅔ tbsp Egg Whites
- 1 ½ tbsp water
- 1 ½ tsp EVOO
- pinch Sea Salt to taste
Filling
- 4 Large (or about 6 medium) scallops dry packed
- ½ pound Cooked Lobster meat from Lobster tails
- EVOO
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Ground White pepper
Sauce
- 1 Shallot finely diced
- ½ Garlic clove chopped
- ½ stalk celery finely chopped
- ½ carrott finely chopped
- ¼ cup White Wine (dry)
- 3 Sundried tomatoes
- 1 1 sprig of fresh Marjoram
- 1 Cup Lobster Stock*
- ¼ tsp Sea Salt
- ¼ tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tbsp Unsalted butter
- 2 tsp Potato starch
Finish
- 1 Roma Tomatoe diced
- Arugula leaves
- Marjoram Leaves
- Chives (Optional)
Instructions
Dough
- In a bowl place the flour, egg whites, water, EVOO and salt.
- Using a Danish Flour Whisk or spoon, mix the dough until combined.
- The dough will be sticky, so spray your hands with cooking spray. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a flat, clean floured board or counter.
- Do not overwork, but mix the dough with your hands until you have a dough ball. Not too dry, again it will be somewhat sticky.
- Place a little EVOO in the bowl and lightly coat the bowl, then lightly coat the dough ball. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and into the refrigerator. Leave this for at least 30 minutes. It can be left overnight.
Lobster
- In a sauce pan, add ~ 3-4 cups water, salt and the lobster tails. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the meat is cooked. Remove the tails, but keep water.
- Remove the lobster meat from the tails, place the shells back in the water and set aside. Set the lobster meat aside to cool.
Filling
- Rinse the scallops and dry with paper towels.
- Chop the scallops into a dice about ⅛ inch size and place in a bowl.
- Chop the lobster meat into a dice about ⅛ inch size and add to the scallops.
- Add the salt and pepper.
- Mix well, cover and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Sauce
- In a saute pan add the shallots, garlic, celery, carrott and white wine. Cook over medium to medium low bring to a boil and then simmer until the white wine has been reduced.
- Add the sundried tomatoes, majoram, lobster stock*, salt and pepper. Simmer this mixture for about 30 minutes. Taste before adding the salt and pepper to make sure it is needed.
- Pour the sauce through Chinois strainer, pressing down on the solid ingredients, into a sauce pan. Discard the solids.
- Add the butter. Take the potato starch, add some of the sauce and mix well in a small container. Add the starch a little at a time until the sauce comes to the desired consistency.
- Keep the sauce warm over a very low flame. Watch the sauce, stirring freuqently.
Raviole shapping and cooking
- Using a pasta machine makes forming these packets much easier. Set your machine on the 5 setting (my machine). You want a dough thin enough to see your hand when behind the dough in the light.
- Place the dough on a clean flat surface and using a rolling pin roll the dough until thin enough to start running it through the pasta machine.
- In the picture I used a different shape, but it is much easier to do half moons, or to do two rounds one on top of the filling in the other. You do not want too much dough, or the packets loose flavor.
- Using a 3 inch cookie cutter, cut out the round shapes. Shape into half moons (probably the easiest), or whatever shop you desire.
- Add about 1 tbsp of the filling, wet the edge of the round and fold over (if using the half moon shape). Seal well. Set on a parchment covered cookie sheet and cover with a lightly moist towel.
- These will be both boiled and fried.
- Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Add salt and mix. Drop the ravioles into the boiling water. When they float to the surface, scoop them out using a Spider strainer ladel onto a clean dry towel.
- Leave them on the towel and tap them with the towel. Then place them onto a parchment covered plate or smaller cookie sheet.
- Place 1-2 tbsp of EVOO in a frying pan and heat on medium low until simmering. Add the Ravioles and fry until they begin to brown. Get a nice browning on both sides, then remove and set aside.
Assembly and Serving
- Dice the Roma tomato. Place some arugula (you can use other greens) on a plate. Add the ravioles.
- Pour the sauce over the ravioles generously.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes, marjoram leaves and chives (if using) over the top of the ravioles and serve.
Lobster stock*
- Using the lobster shells and water you saved from cooking the tails.
- Add 1/2 shallot, 1/2 carrot roughly chopped, 1/2 celery stalk roughly chopped, 1 bay leaf, splash of white wine, sea salt and pepper to taste. Place all this into the water you saved from cooking the tails. Bring to a boi and then simmer on low heat for about 15-20 minutes. Strain through a chinois pushing down on the solid ingredients. Discard the solids. Taste frequently as salt may not need to be added.
Notes
*Since I do not use lobster stock that often, it wouldn’t make sense for me to make 6 or 8 quarts at a time. I just take the lobster shells and make a quick stock, just enough for the dish. You are welcome to make a more involved lobster stock if you wish. recipes abound.
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