Name: Timbale of Raviolis, a LA Romaine
Ingredients: 4 dozen raviolis; 4 ounces truffles, cut into scallops; 4 ounces red tongue, cut into scallops; 20 mushrooms, sliced; ⅔ cup Madeira wine; 1 ounce game glaze; 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese; 1 large spoonful reduced Espagnole sauce

Why it works: Truffle and mushroom are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,900 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Timbale of Raviolis, a LA Romaine

Ingredients

4 dozen raviolis
4 ounces truffles, cut into scallops
4 ounces red tongue, cut into scallops
20 mushrooms, sliced
⅔ cup Madeira wine
1 ounce game glaze
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1 large spoonful reduced Espagnole sauce

Directions

Prepare the filling

Boil the raviolis in consomme and drain them on a sieve.
In a stewpan, combine the truffles, red tongue, and mushrooms.
Add the Madeira wine and game glaze, then boil quickly over high heat until the wine is absorbed.
Stir in the grated Parmesan cheese and reduced Espagnole sauce until hot.

Finish and serve

Garnish the timbale case, turn it out onto a dish, glaze it, and pour a little brown sauce around the base before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Truffle + mushroomtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,900 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Mushroom + parmesan cheesetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,199 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Scallop + saucetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together130 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Truffle + parmesan cheesetop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together140 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Truffle + madeira winetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together195 recipes

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Raviolis: Form the bulk of the timbale and hold the filling together in shape.
Truffles: Add a concentrated, earthy aroma that defines the dish.
Red tongue: Contributes savoury meatiness and texture to the filling.
Mushrooms: Add moisture and savoury depth as they cook down.
Madeira wine: Adds sweetness and acidity, and its reduction concentrates the flavour.
Grated parmesan cheese: Adds savoury salty flavour and helps bind the filling as it melts.

The step that matters

Boil the Madeira down until absorbed. Boiling quickly over high heat evaporates the wine so the filling does not become watery. Excess liquid would soften the raviolis and make the timbale collapse when turned out.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Cheese Scallop19 recipes

Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes

Mushroom Soup60 recipes

Cheese Making50 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Timbale of Raviolis, a LA Romaine