Gordon Ramsay’s lobster ravioli is delicate fresh pasta filled with lobster bound in a light salmon mousse, finished in a shellfish stock. The dough needs resting, so set aside about two hours start to finish.
This is the dish that put him on the map, still on his three-Michelin-star menu. He learned it under Marco Pierre White at Harvey’s, shown in this 1989 clip. His rule is a thin dough with a moist filling, just cooked through.
This dish lives or dies on keeping the filling dry. Gordon warns against any moisture in it, because a wet filling weeps and tears the thin pasta. The salmon binds the diced lobster so it stays moist to eat but firm enough to shape.
Gordon Ramsay’s Lobster Ravioli
Course: DinnerCuisine: Italian, BritishDifficulty: Advanced4
45
minutes10
minutes480
kcal2 hr
His restaurant-style lobster ravioli, scaled for a home kitchen. Fresh egg pasta around a lobster-and-salmon filling, with exact amounts from his cookbook and the honest stock finish he actually uses. Serves 4.
Ingredients
- For the pasta dough (makes extra, freeze the rest):
550g plain flour
Generous pinch of salt
4 large eggs
6 large egg yolks
2 tbsp olive oil
- For the lobster filling:
2 cooked lobsters (about 500g each), meat picked and finely diced
100g skinless salmon fillet
½ tsp fresh basil, chopped
½ tsp fresh tarragon, chopped
½ tsp fresh chervil, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
Pinch of salt
2 tsp water
- To serve:
Reduced lobster or shellfish stock
A drizzle of olive oil and chopped herbs
Directions
- Make the dough: Sift the flour and salt into a processor with the eggs, yolks and oil. Blitz to coarse crumbs, then knead to a smooth, firm ball. Wrap and rest 1 hour. This makes about 800g, more than you need, so freeze the rest for tagliatelle.
- Make the filling: Blend the salmon to a smooth purée. Fold in the diced lobster, herbs and seasoning, keeping everything dry. Roll into 8 balls and chill until firm.
- Roll the pasta: Cut off a third of the dough. Roll it through a pasta machine, thickest setting down to thinnest, then cut 10cm rounds.
- Fill and seal: Brush a round with egg wash, sit a lobster ball in the centre, top with a second round. Press out every pocket of air, then seal the edges tightly.
- Blanch: Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for 2 minutes, then lift into iced water. Drain. You can hold them here, chilled, until serving.
- Serve: Reheat the ravioli in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Plate up and spoon over the reduced shellfish stock.
FAQs
What sauce does Gordon serve with lobster ravioli?
Not the heavy cream sauce most recipes reach for. In his cookbook he keeps it light, finishing the ravioli with a reduced shellfish-stock vinaigrette over wilted Savoy cabbage.
In a later version he uses a lemongrass velouté instead, so the sauce changes but the idea stays the same. If you’d rather cook lobster a richer way, his lobster thermidor leans into cream and cheese.
How do you stop lobster ravioli bursting?
Two things split a raviolo: trapped air, and water sneaking in through a weak seal. As you lay the top sheet on, smooth it down from the filling outwards so no bubble is trapped.
Then press the edges firmly with dry fingers to lock them, since any filling smeared on the seam stops it sticking. A snug seal is what keeps them whole in the water.
Can you make lobster ravioli ahead?
Yes, and this is how the restaurant serves it to order. Once blanched and cooled, the ravioli hold in the fridge for a day, ready to drop into hot water at the last minute.
The filling can also be made a day ahead, so you can split the work. If you want a simpler seafood pasta on a weeknight, his prawn pasta comes together in minutes.
Why does Gordon use so many egg yolks in his pasta dough?
His dough runs heavy on yolks, six on top of four whole eggs. The yolks are mostly fat, so they make the dough richer, more golden and more supple than a basic flour-and-egg pasta.
That suppleness lets you roll it thin enough to see through without it tearing, which is what ravioli needs. He says he makes fresh pasta by hand twice a day, so the dough is second nature to him.
What other fillings does Gordon use for ravioli?
Plenty. In his books he fills ravioli with goat’s cheese, basil, even oyster, always with that same thin dough and tightly sealed edges.
His most famous single-filling version is the runny egg yolk raviolo, a different beast entirely. He also wraps lobster in pastry for his lobster wellington.
