Heart, body and soul
CREATE AND COOK WITH A SIMPLE INGREDIENT TO FEED YOU WELL, GIVE TO OTHERS AND TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS
For the heart, a joy-filled make that’s as much a pleasure to create as it is to give away to loved ones. For the body, indulge in your favourite flavour combinations to create a rich, chocolatey homemade skincare treat. And finally, a collection of delicious recipes that pair chocolate with unusual, yet complementary flavours.
CHOCOLATE Sweet treat or savoury surprise
At this time of year, chocolate is almost certainly egg-shaped (with the exception of a bunny or two) and wrapped in colourful foil. Hidden about the garden, waiting for the kids to find, this Easter treat can be overly sweet and a little cloying. But as an ingredient, chocolate is something of a chameleon.
Traditionally used in Mexican cooking to enrich savoury dishes such as molé or chilli, it tempers the heat of spice. Alongside the umami flavour of miso or the earthiness of mushrooms, chocolate is transformed into a rich pudding or a savoury pasta, as highlighted in our recipes here. And as an ingredient for a homemade lip balm, it brings delicious flavour and a deep colour, that’s almost good enough to eat. »
Heart CHOCOLATE AND ROSE PETAL SALAMI
Chocolate salami is an Italian classic. Think of it as Rocky Road’s fancy older sister – instead of raisins and marshmallows, this version swaps in pistachios and rose petals for colour and crunch.
Makes one
4 Rich Tea biscuits
20g shelled pistachios
2 tbsp dried rose petals.
100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa) 1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp milk
Icing sugar, for dusting
1 Break the biscuits into roughly
1cm chunks and finely chop the pistachios. Add both to a bowl along with the rose petals.
2 Meanwhile, melt the chocolate – either in the microwave in 30-second bursts or in a bain-marie, making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water.
3 Once melted, stir in the olive oil and milk and thoroughly mix together before combining with the biscuit/nut/petal blend.
4 Stir well and set aside for 30 mins.
5 Transfer the mixture to a sheet of greaseproof paper and use a spatula to form it into a salami shape. Bring up the sides of the paper to roll the salami until the sides are smooth. Dust with plenty of icing sugar until the salami is dappled and authentically sausage-like.
6 Slice into 1cm rounds to serve. Cook’s note: This chocolate salami will keep in the fridge for up to five days, or you can store it in the freezer for up to three months.
Body CHOCOLATE AND PEPPERMINT LIP BALM
Homemade lip balm is easier than you might expect. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can experiment with different flavour combinations. This version is like mint choc chip ice cream for your lips.
Makes two
1 tbsp coconut oil
1½ tbsp shea butter
1½ tbsp cocoa butter
1 tbsp cocoa powder
3 drops peppermint essential oil 2 x 30ml jars
1 Put the coconut oil, shea butter, cocoa butter and cocoa powder into a jam jar or bowl.
2 Set the bowl over a pan of boiling water, taking care not to let it touch the water. As soon as they’ve all melted, remove from the heat. Alternatively, heat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, or until melted.
3 Let the mix cool for a few minutes before adding the essential oil.
4 Stir well before pouring into your jars. Be careful not to spill the mixture around the top of the jar as this’ll make it difficult to open once cooled. To speed up the cooling process, put your jars in the fridge or freezer. »
A flavoured lip balm will deliver more than just a moment on the lips for dedicated chocoholics
Soul TAGLIATELLE AL CIOCCOLATO
Chocolate pasta may sound like the sort of novelty you’d pick up in an airport gift shop, but it’s another tried-and-tested Italian combo. Paired with cream, wine and rosemary, it takes on an earthy tone that complements the wild mushrooms wonderfully.
Serves 2
For the pasta dough:
65g pasta flour
15g cocoa powder, plus more to dust ½ tsp salt
1 medium egg yolk
½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
For the sauce:
15g dried wild mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
50g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
A splash of white wine 125ml double cream
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 Tip your dried mushrooms into a bowl and rehydrate by covering with boiling water. Set aside.
2 Meanwhile, make the pasta by sifting the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a bowl. Stir them together and make a well in the centre.
3 Separate the egg and tip the yolk into the well. With a fork, start to beat the yolk and add the oil, slowly incorporating the flour mix.
4 Knead the dough until it’s smooth, adding small amounts of water as required. Set aside for 30 mins.
5 Dust your work surface with cocoa powder and turn the dough out, kneading it until it’s pliable.
6 Pass the dough through the widest setting of your pasta machine, repeating as many times as necessary until you have sheets of pasta that hold together without crumbling. Reduce the setting of the pasta machine down by one turn of the dial and continue to pass the pasta sheets through until you have very thin sheets.
7 Cut into thin noodles using either the tagliatelle setting on the pasta machine, a fluted pasta wheel or with a knife, then hang to dry on a pasta tree or on the backrest of a chair.
8 Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add plenty of salt. Drop in your chocolate pasta and cook for 2 mins. Before draining, scoop out a cup of the pasta water and set aside.
9 Meanwhile, drain the dried mushrooms (you can use the water for stock or gravy). Heat a pan and add the butter. Once melted, add the shallot and both types of mushroom. Stir and cook gently until they begin to brown.
10 Pour in a splash of white wine and allow the alcohol to cook off. Then add the double cream and the rosemary and season with salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
11 Cook for a further 5 mins, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has reduced a little – if the sauce is too dry you can add some of the reserved pasta water.
12 Tip the drained pasta into the pan with the mushroom sauce and stir well before serving. »
Far from a novelty, chocolate pasta's earthy flavours take on a grown-up edge that complements the mushroom sauce
PAIN AU CHOCOLAT MISO PUDDING
A bread-and-butter pudding in disguise, this dessert combines homemade chocolate custard with white miso paste to create deep and rich flavours. Rather than using stale bread or brioche, mini pains au chocolat are both an easy shortcut and another opportunity to add a delicious bit of chocolate.
Serves 6
10 mini pains au chocolat
300ml double cream
150ml whole milk
50g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), broken into pieces
1 tbsp white miso paste
3 egg yolks
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/ Gas 3. Arrange the mini pains au chocolat in an ovenproof dish – you’ll want them snuggled together neatly while leaving room for the custard.
2 Combine the cream, milk, chocolate and miso paste in a pan and set it over a low heat, stirring regularly.
3 Once the chocolate has melted and the mixture is hot, turn off the heat.
4 In a separate bowl, whisk together the yolks and the sugar, then pour the contents of your pan over the eggs and sugar, whisking continuously.
5 Once combined, pour over the pains au chocolat, ensuring the custard is evenly spread out. Cover with foil and bake for 30 mins, then remove the foil and bake uncovered for a further 15 mins.
This take on a bread and butter pudding has an added twist of white miso, which gives the custard a rich umami flavour