Etruscan Chocohotel Tagliatelle al Cacao

Posted by in Chocolate Reviews on May 17 2007 | Leave A Comment

Tagliatelle al CacaoDuring my recent stay at the Chocohotel in Perugia, I spent quite a while in their fabulously well-stocked Chocostore, picking out numerous items to review for this site. This is the only item I came back with that had the Chocohotel brand name, and fittingly enough it’s another unusual find – chocolate pasta!

The chocolate tagliatelle travelled with me for a fortnight, wrapped in swaddling clothes (well, a couple of old t-shirts) so as to avoid it disintegrating in transit.
Upon my arrival home, my various purchases were ooh-ed and ahh-ed (and drool-ed) over save this one, which was greeted with more of an “Eh?”

I must admit to never having heard of chocolate pasta before, and so I found myself looking for suitable recipes on the internet. (There was one printed on the packet, but Italian is not my strongest language).

Cooking the pasta was simple. Eight minutes in boiling water, but do you add olive oil? Given a 2% cocoa content, I thought it best not to.

I’d found a couple of recipes on line and had plumped for a raspberry coulis and cream combo, since raspberries are in season at the moment and are easy to get hold of. So, while the pasta bubbled away in the water I set to work blending and warming the raspberries. I decided against over-sweetening the coulis, leaving the natural tartness of the raspberries to be softened by the addition of whipped cream.

Tagliatelle al CacaoThe pasta turned a satisfyingly reddish brown colour when cooked, and certainly gave off a hint of cocoa as it was drained. I threw the coulis in on top and gave it a thorough stirring to coat the pasta, hoping to avoid any unnecessary clumping.

The next question was – does one eat this stuff hot or cold? I had to leave it to cool a little before spooning on the cream and grating the chocolate, but should it be eaten straight away or left in the fridge for a while? Only one thing for it – do both.

As you can see, I went all cheffy and served it up in martini glasses, two of which went into the fridge to cool while we sampled the warm stuff. It was a little strange eating pasta for dessert, and the low chocolate content of the pasta meant that my tart raspberry coulis was the prevailing flavour, softened off by the cream somewhat, but still definitely top dog on the palate. The pasta had what could best be described as a very subtle flavour, and I immediately thought that I should have added sugar to the coulis and been a little more sparing with it.

It seemed to work better cold, by the way. The pasta wasn’t ‘free running’ as it has stuck together somewhat during the cooling process, but it made it easier to eat with a spoon!

I’d be interested to try this again sometime, as I thought my attempt wasn’t all that successful, but I would recommend having a go at this as an unusual dessert offering to dinner guests. No doubt chocolate pasta is available in the UK somewhere (I have yet to find a supplier online – can anyone help?) so perhaps next time I’ll follow a more traditional recipe (like the one on the packet!)

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Comments On This Post

  1. Keiri

    This looks so very interesting. I am sure the pasta would work well in savory dishes, too.

  2. helena

    Hi,

    I actually found some chocolate penne by a firm called Morelli’s
    It was on sale in the cook shop at Kew Gardens of all places
    But, last time I was there they didn’t have any
    Still, it seems it is available

  3. Jeannie

    Hi, Many many years ago there used to be a pasta restaurant on Dean Street, London W1 that had chocolate pasta served hot with vanilla or chocolate icecream as a dessert – it was GORGEOUS – the restaurant has long gone and everytime I asked for chocolate pasta in deli’s up and down the country I have met with some very nasty comments…… I am so glad that it has had a revival and I shall be keeping an eye out to buy some online. As I said it used to be served hot with ice cream, nothing else… it was lovely!

  4. John

    Hi, There is a gourmet food brand now available in London – it is called ‘Love Italy’. It sells an amazing range of unusual Italian foods, and it has a HUGE selection of Pasta including Chocolate pasta, Chocolate & Orange pasta, Chocolate & Chilli pasta, pasta with Strawberries & Barolo wine…yum!!
    Not sure if the company is selling it’s products on-line yet, but Love Italy’s Chocolate tagliatelle is available to buy from Harrods… BUON APPETITO!!!

  5. Jess

    Hi, my partner bought me chocolate penne for my birthday from the Hotel Chocolat chain (they have an online shop as well) And they also sell a variety of sauces to accompany it.

  6. I’d picked up some chocolate pasta at Pike’s Market in Seattle and plan on making this for dessert this Saturday for friends. (They’re close friends so if it tastes terrible I know they’ll forgive me).

    Plan is to top the warm pasta with small ice cream balls, strawberry coulis, and finally top with shredded white chocolate (aka parmesan).

    If nothing else it’ll be a neat presentation.

  7. Dom (Chocablog Staff)

    Sounds fantastic Lili – let us know how it turns out!

  8. Simon

    I’m liking the presentation ideas there Lili. You must send photos, and remember, how it looks is at least half of the battle!

  9. I have just read your attempts to cook and toss your cocoa tagliatelle. I’m from Italy. My husband and I have a website on Italian cooking and entertaining. In Italy we use cocoa tagliatelle in different ways. We serve them especially as first course (main dish) tossed with a savory sauce or as dessert. Nowadays we also find cocoa ravioli by Rana.
    If you’re interested in chocolate tagliatelle you can find how to prepare fresh chocolate tagliatelle at home
    http://www.theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/pasta/pasta-fresca/ricette_recipes/pasta_fresca_007_cocoa_tagliatelle.php
    and how to toss them for a tasty savoury pasta
    http://www.theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/pasta/dried_pasta/ricette/pasta_secca_008_cocoa_tagliatelle_cream_walnuts.php
    Greetings from Italy
    Loretta

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