Passport & Plate - Chocolate Salami
USA | Wednesday, March 12, 2014 | 2 photos
Ingredients
14 ounces dark chocolate (66 - 70% cacao), chopped
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups coarsely chopped biscotti, shortbread or amaretti cookies
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
Powdered sugar, as desired
How to prepare this recipe1. In medium saucepan, combine chocolate and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over medium-low heat until chocolate is melted, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
2. Stir biscotti and amaretto into melted chocolate. Let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes or until firm enough to shape.
3. Sprinkle a large sheet of parchment paper generously with powdered sugar. On parchment paper, shape the chocolate mixture into a 12-inch long log. Wrap the log in parchment paper. Chill for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Slice before serving.
The story behind this recipeWhen Roberta asked me if I had eaten chocolate salami, my mind could not comprehend the question. Did I understand the Italian correctly? I helped cut the cookies and melt the chocolate, dabbed it with powdered sugar and twisted it into a parchment-paper wrapper.
Don’t be fooled by the title – there is no meat in this playful dessert. The cut biscotti take the appearance of fat globules in a hard salami, making this a uniquely Italian recipe.
This dessert will forever remind me of my first trip to Italy, the trip that made me fall in love with food and with the country. People waving their hands, speaking loudly, taking forever at the table. They were so caught up with their regional food that if the recipe wasn’t made by their nonna, it was wrong.
They were in love with their vegetables – the best ones aren’t overcooked, to preserve their flavor. Maestros of flour. Courtesans of cheese. Devotees of fresh food.
And these people were transparent in their enthusiasm. French isn’t the language of love - at least not the excitable, joyous, shout-it-to-the-world kind of love. You need the Italian language for that.
When I let myself go from social constraints, that is who I am. Here were my people, I realized.
WWOOFing (working on organic farms) in Italy for two weeks and living with families left me with an undeniable feeling that this was my home. After staying with Roberta in the south of Italy, I went to cooking school and embarked on a serious culinary adventure.
While there are quite a few versions of chocolate salami in Italy, this is my favorite. It is the simplest, has the fewest ingredients and has a generous amount of estratto di mandorla, or almond extract. It is the one flavor that will make me close my eyes, raise my forehead to the sky, breathe hard and let out an audible sigh.
I have been studying Italian for 4 years, eager to be back among Italians. This dessert brings me back to my goal, my first trip, and hopefully my next one.
