Oct 13, 2010

Chocolate ravioli recipe

Yes, chocolate.

While lazily shopping for staples in a new supermarket a few days ago, I came across a famous Italian brand of commercially sold fresh pasta–not the dried variety, nor the kind extruded through precious metal dies–but one that actually fulfills one of my biggest fantasies. Chocolate pasta.

I'm not talking about a vague flavoring, or a slight a beige hue, no. This is serious choco-mania material. Large percentage of fair trade cacao mixed into the dough, and a decadent chunky hazelnut chocolate filling.

The term ravioli just went up a notch.

chocolate ravioli


What follows may not be a crowd pleaser. But my name is Eleonora and I am a chocoholic. So bear with me on this one.

The manufacturer calls these "tortelli" given their exotic filling, even if in this particular case they're square-shaped and stuffed, like what I'm more comfortable calling 'ravioli.' For more on pasta shapes and types, please read my La pasta! post.

The box suggested the pasta be served as a quirky dessert, and offered a number of original cooking ideas. But I had to experiment with flavors, and take my chocofantasy all the way.

So I boiled the ravioli in salted water.

I prepared a basic dressing. What you normally do when employing star ingredients that need to shine, like white truffles, garden sage or a special stuffed pasta, like in this case.

This every day elemental dressing is salted butter and very good quality, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Fresh pasta needs very little cooking, the box said 2 minutes.

I drained the ravioli, saving a little starchy cooking water. I poured them into my bowl with 1/2 stick of butter and generous fistful of grated Parmigiano, and stirred gently to coat evenly. I then added a splash of cooking water for creaminess.

As a final touch, I dusted a minimal amount (about a tablespoon) of chocolate caviar, another sinful item I picked up some time ago and cannot seem to do without lately. I normally use it over gelato, fruit salad or tiramisu; but I've had days when it was perfect sprinkled over pizza bianca, or dropped liberally in my morning cappuccino and evening Irish Coffee.

Chocolate is so versatile, that it can very well be used in savory preparations. The soft smoothness of the chocolate elements, and the salty notes of the grated cheese and melted butter offered a very interesting flavor combination. The glass of full-bodied and voluptuous Amarone I drank with it also contributed.
sweet~savory chocolate ravioli for lunch


This post is is one of many submitted worldwide for Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust & Lipstick.

Head over to Beth's to learn more about ethnic (and unconventional) cuisine from around the world.

27 comments:

  1. Lo potrei mangiarlo gia :) Questa ricetta, sicuramente lo provero!!!
    Complimenti!!!

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  2. oh my...

    you know fruit does it for me more than chocolate...just saying...

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  3. Niiiice. When I tried this on my parents we went classic French with an orange juice and Grand marnier sauce in slightly salted butter. They quite liked it and expect me to bring a supply back with me when I come and visit next time.

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  4. You never cease to surprise me, Lola! Chocolate caviar, oh my God!
    How can I vote for you on that voting board?

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  5. When I was little, my grandmother - from Marches (le Marche) - used to make chocolate tagliatelle, with walnuts and cocoa powder. It was SO good!

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  6. Did we arrive in Paradise? Madonnaaaaaaaaaa!

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  7. We had sweet ravioli at Christmas, a sweet dough filled with ground almonds, spices and chocolate, fried and sugared and eaten faster than anything, "cowchewunchilli" we prounounced it, meaning little calzoni, in the local dialect.

    Oh, you sent me back again...!

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  8. Are you seriously trying to kill me? This is to die for! I just wish Apple would invent lickable laptop screens, just so I could get a little taste of this :)

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  9. Yum! That looks absolutely amazing - I'll have to get my hands on some chocolate ravioli soon! :)

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  10. Hmm I like your savory preparation of these... but I'm looking at them thinking perhaps some sort of raspberry sauce and whipped cream would pair really well too!

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  11. Andras~
    Si ma devi trovare i ravioli al cioccolato prima!

    ~~~~~~~

    Brian~
    Are you serious? Fruit over chocolate, really?!

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    Nathalie~
    Love the crêpe suzette style! Well, hurry and stock up because these are in a limited edition...

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    Geli~
    Thank you, my pastry guru. I am not running for Project FoodBlog. You can however vote my essay on the Anthony Bourdain competition! It's free, just need to register...

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    Tuscan Foodie~
    I've never had traditional tagliatelle al cacao Marchigiane, but I want to try them–I hear they're great. Either dressed with browned butter & sage, or with a chunky wild game ragù, or panna and walnuts... drooling.

    ~~~~~~~

    Rosaria~
    Calcioni, yes. In dialect Cauciuni, or cauciuncilli. I love rminding you of these olfactory/flavor memories... :)

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    Robin~
    Either lickable screens or aroma spritzers... Working on it, comunque.

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    Stephanie~
    Hurry, they're in a limited edition... And not available on Amazon. I checked.

    ~~~~~~~

    Megan~
    Yes, the manufacturer suggests preparing them with exactly that, a raspberry coulis and heavy cream... Nathalie's (spacedlaw, a few comments up) idea is great too, orange juice and Cointreau... yum.

    Happy eating

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  12. Ele-

    I certainly do NOT have 'my mother's Neopolitian-American version' of today's recipe!

    When can we get it in the States?

    xoR

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  13. Love the savory idea...I've used a cocoa vermicelli as a desert with raspberries and creme fraiche...but this sounds great...

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  14. lola, i use parmesan cheese on everything but never on chocolate. you are too much! i LOVE chocolate. be still my caloric heart ♥

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  15. Che buoni!

    I'll be obsessing over these (and the chocolate caviar) all day!

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  16. chocolate ravioli -- oh. yes. please! no such thing as too much of a good thing i say, and this is no exception - meraviglioso!

    lola please take a look at my post today - we are on a similar choco path as i write about something i tried over the weekend --- chocolate bacon!

    xoxo
    a

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  17. Middle-age started me on my chocolate journey. I worry I wouldn't bother to cook it - just much on it raw. Chocolate caviar, you say? Oh my!

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  18. I saw it for sale, but I thought that it was a very strange combination to eat, even if I'm a huge insatiable chocoholic!

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  19. Roseann~
    tried looking for them on Amazon and putting them for sale in my online store, but no. You'll have to come here for some... :)

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    Donata~
    It's a strange yet perfect match...

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    KJ~
    I managed to grate cheese over chocolate, uniting in one perfect mouthful my two ultimate favorite flavors. Divine!

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    Corinne~
    Sono buonissimiiii!

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    Amanda~
    I've heard of bacon dipped in chocolate. I'll be right over, save me a plate, grazie-

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    Claudia~
    But you have melted chocolate for pastries and gelato and... the list could go on for days. Chocaviar is ridiculously good.

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    Rinaz~
    Try it before the limited edition ends, believe me. You'll not regret it!

    Ciao

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  20. who can say no to chocolate and I like cheese too, so I'd be willing to give it a go x

    Yum!

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  21. Only because i trust you, but chocolate ravioli?? you and amanda could eat this with her chocolate bacon and i'll have the veggie pie with little e! maybe a little of that caviar too?

    (and wine for me too please) ;)

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  22. Robyn~
    I agree, choc and cheese, it's a no brainer, right?! Hugs

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    Lori~
    Ha ha ha I knew you'd cringe at this!! :)
    Amanda and I can pig out while you and Little E can be the healthy ones, eating green and ethic.
    I'm dreaming of that meal together, always.

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  23. i just liked my apple screen and now I'm going to stick my tongue in a packet of hot chocolate powder because you've set me off and I don' t have a decent fix in the house!
    Superali Romesecret

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  24. Alice~
    I'm working on multi-sensorial blogging, the new foodblog frontier.
    Then again we could meet for lunch, it'd be easier.

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  25. Wow, Melt in your mouth, chocolate goodness~

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  26. That sounds absolutely amazing!
    I would love to get my hands on that chocolate caviar.

    http://budgettravelerssandbox.com/2010/10/wanderfood-wednesday-from-my-korean-kitchen/

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  27. Jo~
    happy you enjoyed.

    ~~~~~~~

    CChuck~
    indeed!

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    Nancie~
    doing my best to get it in my store...

    Ciao

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