Include Chocolate in Any Meal

Chocolate isn’t just for an after dinner treat- you can bring chocolate in to almost any meal! Adding chocolate in a dish is a simple way to give your dish a boost of flavor. Chocolate sometimes gets a bad rap for being an unhealthy sweet, but research has shown the many health benefits to this historic plant. Chocolate’s great health benefits can also be a great addition to any dish, as long you know what you’re doing!

Health Benefits of Chocolate

delysia dark chocolate and cocoaMost think of chocolate as a way to satisfy a sweet craving, but it can also be full of antioxidants. The main ingredient in this rich treat is cacao, which has several health benefits. Cacao can help reduce stress along with your potential for heart disease and diabetes.

In order to reap the benefits; try to stick to bittersweet chocolate that contains at least 60% of cacao or cocoa, which is the roasted version of cacao. Milk, sugar, and butter, which helps make chocolate so sweet and creamy, weakens these benefits and increases the fat content.

Delysia Chocolatier’s dark chocolate bark would make the perfect addition to any meal as it has no additives, preservatives, or extra ingredients, so you can indulge in the purity of our sustainable chocolate. Plus, it’s rich pure flavor will be sure to wow your taste buds.

A Rich Addition to the Main Meal

Dark Chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder can help increase the flavor and lower the acidity of a dish. Cocoa powder is a popular addition in chili as it adds color and richness to such a hearty meal.

Mole is another well-known dish; where chicken or another meat is smothered in a thick rich sauce with a hint of chocolate. This popular Mexican cuisine has helped chocolate make a mark outside of the world of desserts.

Another unexpected way to include chocolate in your main dish is to add it to your pasta sauce. The blogger behind “Gimme Some Oven” came up with a Dark Chocolate Marinara sauce, which can be made in less than 20 minutes. This creamy rich sauce can be the highlight of your work-week! Indulge in Delysia Chocolatier’s Dark chocolate truffle collection for dessert to add symmetry to your meal.

PASTA WITH DARK CHOCOLATE MARINARA SAUCE

A hint of dark chocolate makes this marinara extra special!

TOTAL TIME: 20 MINS

YIELD: 2-4 SERVINGS

INGREDIENTS:

  • 12 ounces dried pasta (I used linguine)
  • 1 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves, loosely packed
  • 1 ounce Delysia Chocolatier’s dark chocolate bark, Ghost pepper bark for spice, chopped
  • 1 tsp. sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
  • Optional garnishes: additional julienned fresh basil and Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta al dente according to package instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in a medium skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the remaining ingredients, and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

When the pasta is cooked, drain the water. Then serve the pasta with the sauce ladled on top, or stir together the pasta and sauce and serve with additional garnishes, if desired.

Start thinking about how you can include chocolate in your main dish, and don’t forget to share your new recipes with us in the comments and tag us in your Instagram photos.

Nicole